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ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


CHAPTERS   ABOUT   HORSES   AND 
THEIR   TREATMENT. 


fortis  equus,  spatio  qui  saepe  supremo 


Vicit  Olyrapia. 


BY 


H.    C.    MERWIN. 


BOSTON: 
LITTLE,  BROWN,   AND  COMPANY. 

1892. 


Copyright,  1892, 
By  Little,  Brown,  and  Company. 


©totorrsttij  Press: 

John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


TO 

ANNE    AMORY    MERWIN 
(Cbi»  ^oofc  i£  f  numbed 

IN    GRATEFUL    ACKNOWLEDGMENT    OF    HER    ASSISTANCE 
AS    HORSEWOMAN    AND    CRITIC. 


NOTE. 

/^VF  the  chapters  in  this  book,  the  second, 
sixth,  and  last,  dealing  with  "  Trotting 
Families,"  "Saddle  Horses,"  and  "The  Care  of 
Horses,"  are  now  published  for  the  first  time. 
The  remaining  chapters  originally  appeared  in 
the  Atlantic  Monthly,  from  which  they  are  re- 
printed by  the  kind  permission  of  the  publishers 
of  that  magazine.  The  opportunity  of  republica- 
tion has  been  taken  to  revise  and  enlarge  these 
chapters. 


Concord,  Massachusetts, 
October,  1892. 


CONTENTS. 


-•• 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Ethics  of  Horse-Keeping      ....  1 

II.     Trotting  Families 23 

III.  Trotting  Horses 59 

IV.  Trotting  Races 87 

V.     Road  Horses 113 

VI.     Saddle  Horses 144 

VII.     Carriage  Horses  and  Cobs 178 

VIII.     Cart  Horses 206 

IX.     Fire  Horses 229 

X.     Arabian  Horses 255 

XI.     The  Care  of  Horses 286 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page 
GLENCOE Frontispiece 

Naomi  and  Foal 1 

The  property  of  Mr.  Randolph  Huntington. 

Rysdyck's  Hambletonian 23 

Mambrlno  King  at  twenty  years  op  age     To  face     32 

From  a  Photograph  which  Mr.  C.  J.  Hamlin,  the  owner,  kindly 
had  taken  for  this  book. 

Onward,  Son  of  George  Wilkes 59 

Arion To/ace     84 

The  property  of  Mr.  J.  Malcolm  Forbes. 

Henry  Clay 86 

Goldsmith  Maid .     .     .     .       87 

Smuggler 112 

A  Half-bred  Mare 113 

From  an  instantaneous  Photograph. 

Antewood,  a  Trotting  Stallion 143 

Redrawn  from  '*  The  Chicago  Horseman." 

A  Morning  Ride 144 

From  a  Picture  by  J.  Sturgis. 

Miss  Hammond,  a  Bronco-Thoroughbred    .     .     .     177 

The  property  of  Mr.  S.  D.  Warren. 

Coach  Horses 178 

Ethan  Allen .   To  face     198 

A  Half-bred  Carriage  Horse 205 


X  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 
A  Ploughing  Team  at  Work 206 

From  an  instantaneous  Photograph. 

Cart  Horses 228 

Going  to  a  Fire 229 

From  an  instantaneous  Photograph. 

Old  Joe 254 

From  a  Photograph. 

Bonaparte's  Arabian  Charger 255 

From  the  Picture  by  Meissonier. 

A  Stable  Scene 286 

Redrawn  from  "  The  Chicago  Horseman." 

Old  Boney 322 

From  a  Photograph. 


ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


I. 


THE   ETHICS   OF   HORSE-KEEPIXG. 


IE  a  man  could  go  into  open  market  and  for  two  or 
three  hundred  dollars  purchase  the  lifelong  devo- 
tion of  a  friend,  though  a  humble  friend,  it  would  be 
accounted  a  wonderful  thing.  But  that  is  exactly 
what  happens,  or  might  happen,  whenever  a  horse  is 
bought.  You  give  him  food,  lodging,  and  the  reason- 
able services  of  a  valet,  in  return  for  which  he  will 
not  only  further  your  business  or  your  pleasure,  as 
the  case  may  be,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  but  he  will 
also  repay  you  with  affection,  respond  to  your  ca- 
resses, greet  you  with  a  neigh  of  pleased  recognition, 
and  in  a  hundred  ways  of  his  own  exhibit  a  sense  of 
the  relationship. 

There  are  men  to  whom  a  horse  is  only  an  animate 
machine  :  they  will  ride  and  drive  him,  hire  grooms 

i 


2  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

and  draw  cheques  for  his  sustenance  and  keeping,  but 
all  without  a  single  thought  of  the  animal  as  having 
a  character,  a  mind,  a  career  of  his  own;  as  being 
susceptible  to  pain  or  pleasure ;  as  a  creature  for 
whose  welfare  they  have  assumed  a  certain  respon- 
sibility, of  which  they  cannot  get  rid,  although  they 
may  forget  it  or  deny  its  existence.  Even  among 
people  who  are  intelligent,  religious,  and  kind-hearted, 
as  the  world  goes,  there  is  sometimes  found,  as  we  all 
know,  especially  when  their  own  convenience  is  con- 
cerned, an  astonishing  indifference  to  the  sufferings 
of  dumb  beasts. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  shock  produced  upon  my 
infant  mind  by  a  case  of  this  sort  in  which  a  deeply 
venerated  bishop  was  the  actor.  The  good  man  de- 
scribed in  my  presence  the  great  difficulty  that  he 
had  recently  experienced,  upon  arriving  in  town,  in 
obtaining  a  conveyance  from  the  railroad  station  to 
the  house  where  he  was  to  stay,  two  or  three  miles 
distant.  Through  some  mistake,  no  carriage  had  been 
sent  for  him;  and  by  the  liverymen  to  whom  the 
bishop  applied  he  was  told  that  all  their  horses  were 
so  wearied  and  jaded,  a  huge  picnic  or  funeral  hav- 
ing just  occurred  in  the  village,  that  they  absolutely 
could  not  send  one  out  again.  But  the  successor  of 
the  Apostles  so  wrought  upon  the  stable-keepers  by 
his  eloquence  —  thus  he  narrated,  without  suspicion 
of  the  awful  judgment  that  was  passing  upon  him  by 
youthful  innocence,  sitting  unnoticed  in  a  corner  — 
that  some  unlucky,  overtired  brute  was  finally  dragged 
from  his  stall  and  sent  off  upon  the  five-mile  jaunt. 
Now  the  day  was  warm,  to  be  sure,  and  the  bishop  a 
stout  man;  still,  being  in  the  prime  of  life,  he  could 


THE    ETHICS    OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  3 

have  taken  no  harm,  but  rather  good,  from  the  walk; 
and  yet  neither  when  he  hired  the  horse  nor  when  he 
related  the  transaction  did  it  occur  to  him  that  the 
act  was  one  of  inexcusable  cruelty.  How  many  peo- 
ple, indeed,  know  or  care  what  is  the  condition  of 
the  livery  horses  that  they  hire  from  time  to  time  ? 
How  many,  when  they  summon  a  cab,  so  much  as 
glance  at  the  beast  in  the  shafts  ?  But  it  is  almost 
always  possible  to  make  a  selection,  rejecting  the 
palpably  unfit,  choosing  the  fit  horse ;  and  if  every- 
body took  even  this  slight  amount  of  trouble,  the  em- 
ployment of  broken-down  cab  horses  would  cease  to 
be  profitable. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  hard-heartedness  in  our 
Puritan  blood  as  respects  dumb  animals.  I  once  spent 
several  weeks  on  a  farm  where  many  beasts  of  vari- 
ous kinds  were  kept.  The  family  was  of  pure  New 
England  stock,  farmers  for  many  generations  back,  — 
stalwart,  intelligent,  honest  people,  pillars  of  the 
church,  leading  men  in  the  village,  but  in  their  treat- 
ment of  dumb  beasts  without  feeling  or  compunction. 
If  the  cows  did  not  enter  their  stalls  at  the  proper 
moment,  they  were  pounded  with  whatever  weapon 
came  handy ;  horses  were  driven  when  they  were 
lame,  and  neglected  when  they  were  tired.  Every 
animal  on  the  place  was  in  a  continual  state  of  hunger, 
and  none  ever  received  a  kind  word  or  a  pat  of  the 
hand.  That  on  all  convenient  occasions  I  surrep- 
titiously fed  the  occupants  of  the  barn,  horses,  cows, 
oxen,  and  bull,  is  a  fact  wdiich  I  may  be  permitted  to 
state,  lest  I  should  include  myself  in  the  condemna- 
tion of  these  hard-hearted  farmers ;  and  I  recall  with 
pleasure  the  anticipatory  neighing,  the   scraping   of 


4  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

hoofs,  and  the  rattling  of  chains  that  soon  became 
a  regular  occurrence  whenever  I  set  foot  upon  the 
threshold.  I  have  known  better  educated,  village- 
bred  persons  of  the  same  stamp,  men  of  a  kind 
that  command,  when  they  die,  half-column  obit- 
uary notices  in  the  papers,  who  took  a  vicious  de- 
light in  stoning  dogs  off  their  lawns,  and  who  would 
have  been  moved  to  scorn  by  any  show  of  affection 
for  a  horse. 

People  whose  attitude  toward  dumb  animals  is  of 
this  character  not  only  fail  of  their  duty,  but  miss  a 
vast  amount  of  happiness.  Horses  are  to  be  enjoyed 
in  other  ways  than  those  of  riding  and  driving.  To 
become  familiar  with  their  characters  and  peculiarities, 
of  which  latter  horses  have  many ;  to  see  them  com- 
fortable in  their  stalls,  sleek,  well  fed,  well  groomed, 
warmly  blanketed ;  to  give  them  affection,  and  to  re- 
ceive it  back ;  finally,  to  take  a  pride  in  them,  and, 
frankly  speaking,  to  brag  about  them  without  being 
more  unveracious  than  a  fairly  good  conscience  will 
allow,  — this  it  is  to  enjoy  a  horse.  In  this  matter,  as 
in  all  others  where  motives  are  concerned,  the  good 
and  bad,  or  at  least  the  good  and  indifferent,  in  human 
nature  can  be  made  to  co-operate ;  the  sense  of  duty 
may  be  reinforced  by  a  more  spontaneous  feeling, 
namely,  the  pride  of  ownership.  In  fact,  to  lay  a 
foundation  for  the  exercise  of  this  quality  should 
always  be  a  chief  object  in  buying  a  horse.  Let  your 
new  purchase  have  that  about  him  concerning  which 
you  can  declare,  with  sufficient  plausibility  to  defy 
absolute  contradiction,  that  he  stands  in  the  very 
front  rank  of  equine  excellence ;  as  that  he  is  the 
most   speedy,    or   the    most    enduring,    or   the   hand- 


THE    ETHICS   OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  0 

somest,  or  the  gentlest,  or  the  most  intelligent,  or  the 
toughest,  of  animals.  If  these  qualities  fail,  we  come 
down  to  minor  excellences,  such  as  the  fineness  of 
his  coat,  the  beauty  of  its  color,  the  silkiness  of  his 
mane,  the  length  of  his  tail,  or  the  nobility  of  his 
descent.  It  is  quite  possible  to  buy  for  a  small  sum 
horses  of  unexceptionable  pedigree ;  and  though  a 
well-bred  weed  or  screw  really  travels  no  better  than 
a  "  dunghill,"  yet  his  breeding  will  always  command 
admiration,  and  cast  a  reflected  glory  upon  his  owner. 
The  point  of  superiority  may  be  this  or  that ;  enough 
that  it  distinguishes  your  horse  from  the  ruck  of 
horses,  and  justifies  in  some  measure,  at  least  to  the 
world  at  large,  the  pride  and  pleasure  that  you  take 
in  him.  This  reference  to  the  opinion  of  others  as  a 
guide  for  our  affections,  even  when  a  human  being 
constitutes  the  object,  is  one  of  those  vile  traits  that 
lie  hid  in  the  murky  depths  of  our  nature.  Was  it 
not  remarked  by  George  Sand,  who  knew  the  human 
heart,  and  certainly  took  no  pessimistic  view  of  it, 
that  men  love  women  not  for  what  they  think  of 
them,  but  for  what  they  suppose  other  people  to 
think  of  them  ? 

And  yet  there  is  another  aspect  of  the  matter. 
Just  as  disinterested  affection,  or  something  approach- 
ing it,  may  exist  between  man  and  woman,  so  it  is 
possible  to  be  fond  of  a  horse,  and  to  be  happy  in  his 
well-being,  with  no  admixture  of  those  baser  feelings 
to  which  I  have  alluded.  I  wish  that  you,  gentle 
reader  of  this  book,  might  be  induced  to  try  the  fol- 
lowing experiment.  We  will  suppose  that  you  have 
a  stable  with  an  unoccupied  stall  in  it,  and  by  prefer- 
ence, though  it  is  not  essential,  that  a  paddock  is 


6  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

appurtenant  to  the  stable.  (Not  everybody,  indeed, 
is  so  fortunately  situated,  but  still  the  conditions  just 
mentioned  are  by  no  means  uncommon.)  Now  let  us 
suppose  further  that  you  go  into  the  market  or  to 
some  private  person  and  purchase,  as  you  may  easily 
do  for  forty  or  fifty  dollars,  an  old,  broken-down 
horse,  of  whom  a  long  hard  day's  work  has  been,  and 
unless  you  intervene  will  for  some  years  yet  con- 
tinue to  be  extracted.  Take  him  home,  and  watch 
the  quick  transition  from  misery  to  happiness.  He 
comes  into  your  stable  with  stiff,  painful  steps ;  his 
legs  swollen  from  hock  and  knee  to  ankle ;  his  ribs 
clearly  visible  through  a  rough,  staring  coat ;  and, 
above  all,  with  that  strained,  anxious  expression  of 
the  eye  which  nobody  who  has  once  seen  and  under- 
stood it  can  ever  expel  from  his  memory.  It  is  the 
expression  of  despair.  You  take  off  his  shoes,  give 
him  a  run  at  grass  or  a  deep  bed  of  straw  in  a  com- 
fortable loose  box,  and  forthwith  the  old  horse  begins 
to  improve.  Little  by  little,  the  expression  of  his  eye 
changes,  the  swelling  goes  out  of  his  legs,  and  it  will 
not  be  long  before  he  cuts  a  caper;  a  stiff  and  un- 
gainly one,  to  be  sure,  but  still  a  caper,  indicative  of 
health  and  happiness.  He  will  neigh  at  your  ap- 
proach, and  gladly  submit  his  head  for  a  caress, 
whereas  at  first  he  would  have  shrunk  in  terror  from 
any  such  advances.  (It  may  be  ten  years  since  a 
hand  was  laid  upon  him  in  kindness.)  If  you  have 
any  work  for  him  to  do,  the  old  horse  will  perform 
it  with  alacrity,  exerting  himself  out  of  gratitude; 
he  will  even  flourish  off  in  harness  with  the  airs  of 
a  colt,  as  who  should  say,  "There  is  life  in  me  yet; 
don't  send  me  to  the  knacker;  behold  my  strength 


THE    ETHICS    OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  < 

and  agility."  i  Treat  him  as  you  would  treat  him  if  he 
had  cost  you  a  great  sum,  or  as  if  you  expected  to  win  a 
great  sum  through  his  exertions.  Let  him  have  good 
blankets,  good  grooming,  and  all  the  little  attentions 
of  a  well  ordered  establishment.  Is  there  anything 
ridiculous  in  this  ?  Shall  not  the  stable,  as  well  as 
the  house,  have  its  sacred  rites  of  hospitality  ? 
Shall  not  the  old  cheap  horse  be  made  as  comfortable 
as  the  young  and  costly  one  ? 

And  here  I  anticipate  an  obvious  criticism.  "The 
horse  should  be  killed,  and  the  money  that  it  costs  to 
maintain  him  be  given  to  the  poor."  I  grant  it.  Let 
the  old  horse  be  shot,  and  let  the  two  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  per  week  necessary  for  his  support  be  given  in 
charity.  But  see  to  it,  ye  who  might  maintain  an 
equine  pensioner,  and  forbear  to  do  so  for  reasons  of 
conscience,  —  see  to  it  that  the  poor  be  not  defrauded 
of  the  sum  thus  saved  for  them. 

Doubtless  the  ideal  manner  of  keeping  a  horse  is 
that  practised  in  Arabia,  where,  we  are  told,  he  is 
treated  like  one  of  the  family,  being  the  constant 
companion  of  the  children,  and  allowed  to  poke  his 
nose  within  the  tent  and  in  all  the  household  affairs. 
Unfortunately,  our  habits  of  living  will  not  permit 
such  intimacy,  although  I  have  seen  a  yearling  colt 
within  the  walls  of  a  country  dwelling-house,  taking  a 
moderate  lunch  of  oats  from  the  kitchen  table,  and 
afterward,  with  ears  erect,  briefly  surveying  the  out- 
side world  through  the  drawing-room  window.  Mr. 
Briggs's    introduction   of  his   hunter   to    the    clining- 

1  The  final  illustration  is  a  portrait  of  an  old  cab  horse,  rescued 
in  a  moribund  condition,  and  rejuvenated  in  the  manner  stated  in 
the  text. 


8  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

room  on  Christmas  night,  in  the  animal's  professional 
capacity,  and  the  consequent  results  to  the  china,  will 
occur  to  the  reader  as  a  similar  case.  But  although 
such  instances  must  necessarily  be  rare,  and  are  not, 
perhaps,  exactly  to  be  imitated,  it  is  possible  for 
ever}7  horse-owner  to  cultivate  the  social  and  affec- 
tionate side  of  the  animal's  nature  by  talking  to  and 
caressing  him,  by  visiting  him  in  the  stable,  by  mak- 
ing him  little  gifts,  from  time  to  time,  of  sugar  and 
other  dainties.  Petting  like  this  undoubtedly  tends 
to  render  high-spirited  horses  more  tractable  and  safer 
on  the  road  than  they  would  be  otherwise. 

Mustangs  that  have  been  allowed  to  run  wild  on  the 
prairies  until  they  are  brought  to  the  East  and  sold 
can  rarely  be  broken  so  as  to  be  safe  in  harness ;  but 
ponies  of  the  same  breed  that  have  been  in  actual  use 
by  the  Indians  are  very  trustworthy.  Such  ponies, 
like  Arab  horses,  have  become  domesticated,  and  cease 
to  regard  human  beings  as  their  natural  enemies. 

Few  persons,  moreover,  realize  how  much  a  nervous, 
timid  horse  dislikes  to  be  left  alone,  especially  amid 
terrifvins1  or  even  unusual  surroundings.  I  once 
brought  on  a  steamer  from  Portland  to  Boston  a 
high-strung  Morgan  mare  that  I  had  owned  but  two 
weeks.  She  had  never  travelled  thus  before,  and 
during  the  first  hour  or  two.  if  I  left  her  alone  for 
a  moment,  as  happened  once  or  twice,  she  became 
distressed  and  alarmed  in  the  highest  degree,  sweat- 
ing profusely  and  struggling  to  get  loose ;  but  when  I 
returned  she  would  immediately  become  calm  again, 
rubbing  her  nose  against  me  as  much  as  to  say,  "  For 
Heaven's  sake,  don't  leave  me  alone."  The  same 
horse    (I   have   her  still),   when  tied   in   front    of   a 


THE    ETHICS    OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  9 

strange  house,  always  greets  me  when  I  come  out 
with  an  eager,  enthusiastic  neigh,  as  if  she  had  begun 
to  despair  of  seeing  her  master  again. 

Nevertheless,  whether  from  the  want  of  ancestral 
usage  or  otherwise,  horses,  it  must  be  granted,  are 
less  sociable   with   men  than  are   dogs.     Nor   can    I 
agree  with  the  remark  recorded  as  having  been  made 
by  the  famous   sportsman,  Thomas  Assheton  Smith, 
(but  perhaps  incorrectly,)  that  "horses  are  far  more 
sensible  than  dogs."     The  converse,  I  should  say,  is 
true.     Dogs  are  more  sensible,  more  intelligent,  more 
affectionate,   and,   as   a  rule,   more  trustworthy  than 
horses.     So    much   justice    requires    that   we    should 
admit,  although  the  contrary  is  often  maintained  by 
persons  well  informed  upon  the  subject.     Who,  indeed, 
has  not  heard  the  intelligence  of  the  horse  eloquently 
defended    by   some    hard-headed,    hard-drinking   old 
horseman,   who  would   seem   to   enjoy  a  perfect  im- 
munity from  all  sentimental  considerations  ?     But  he 
does  not.     "If  we  could  have  come  upon  Diogenes 
suddenly,"  Thackeray  somewhere  remarks,  "  he  would 
probably  have  been  found  whimpering  in  his  tub  over 
a  sentimental  romance."     And  so  the  old  horseman, 
being  fond  of  horses,   knowing   them,   but   knowing- 
nothing  else,   deriving  both   his    livelihood   and   his 
pleasure  from  them,  unconsciously  exaggerates  their 
good  qualities.     But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  horse  is 
far  more  intelligent  than  most  people    suppose,  and 
there    are    certain  qualities   in   which   he    excels    all 
other  dumb  animals.     "  The  conspicuous  merit  of  the 
horse,  which  has  given  him  the  dearly  paid  honor  of 
sharing  in  our  wars,"  says  Mr.  Hamerton,  in  a  charm- 
ing essay,  "  is  his  capacity  for  being  disciplined ;  and 


10  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

a  very  great  capacity  it  is,  a  very  noble  gift  indeed,  — 
nobler  than  much  cleverness.  Several  animals  are 
cleverer  than  the  horse  in  the  way  of  intelligence; 
not  one  is  so  amenable  to  discipline." 1  This  is 
true,  unless  an  exception  should  be  made  in  favor 
of  the  elephant.      But  Mr.  Hamerton  omits  to  state 

—  except  perhaps  by  implication  —  the  very  respect 
in  which  the  superiority  of  the  horse  to  all  other 
dumb  animals  is  most  important  and  most  striking, 
namely,  the  fineness  of  his  nervous  system.  All  the 
great  achievements  of  the  horse  ;  all  his  wonderful 
flights  of  speed  and  feats  of  endurance ;  all  his  ca- 
pacity for  being  guided,  restrained,  quickly  turned, 
and  stopped,  for  being  urged  to  the  limit,  and  beyond 
the  limit,  of  his  strength,  —  all,  in  fact,  that  is  glo- 
rious in  him  springs  from  the  sensitiveness  of  his 
nervous  organization.  In  this  respect  no  other  dumb 
animal  that  I  know  of  will  bear  comparison  with  the 
horse.  Mr.  Hamerton  well  says,  in  contrasting  the 
horse  and  the  ass  :  — 

"  I  have  never  yet  seen  the  donkey  which  could  be 
guided  easily  and  safely  through  an  intricate  crowd 
of  carriages  or  on  a  really  dangerous  road.  The  de- 
ficiency of  the  ass  may  be  expressed  in  a  single  word, 

—  it  is  deficiency  of  delicacy.  You  can  guide  a  good 
horse  as  delicately  as  a  sailing-boat ;  when  the  skil- 
ful driver  has  an  inch  to  spare  he  is  perfectly  at  his 

1  Mr.  Hamerton  adds  that  the  horse  is  not  observant  except  of 
places.  But  this  is  a  great  mistake.  A  strange  footfall  in  a  stable 
will  be  noticed  in  a  moment  by  all  the  occupants  of  the  stalls.  A 
lively  horse  observes  the  least  movement  of  his  groom  or  rider,  and 
his  curiosity  is  extreme.  On  strange  roads  horses  always  drive 
better  than  on  familiar  roads.  They  are  more  alert  and  go  faster, 
so  as  to  see  what  is  coming  next. 


THE    ETHICS    OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  11 

ease,  and  he  can  twist  in  and  out  amongst  the  throng 
of  vehicles,  when  a  momentary  display  of  self-will  in 
the  animal  would  be  the  cause  of  an  immediate  acci- 
dent. The  ass  appears  to  be  incapable  of  any  delicate 
discipline  of  this  kind."' 

What  makes  the  horse  so  delicate  an  instrument  to 
play  upon  is  the  quick  and  tine  connection  between 
his  nerves  and  his  brain,  and  the  sensitiveness  of  his 
skin.  People  who  have  never  entered  into  the  art  of 
driving  or  riding,  though  they  may  both  drive  and 
ride  all  their  lives,  think  that  holding  the  reins  is 
something  like  steering  a  heavy  boat :  pull  to  the 
right  if  you  want  to  go  in  that  direction,  pull  hard 
if  you  want  to  stop,  and  so  on.1  But  the  real  art  of 
driving  and  riding  is  the  exercise  of  a  light,  firm, 
sensitive  hand  upon  the  reins,  and  the  continual  play 
of  intelligence,  of  command  on  the  one  hand  and 
of  obedience  on  the  other,  between  the  man  and 
the  horse. 

The  same  nervous  development  that  makes  the 
horse  a  sensitive,  controllable,  pliable  animal  makes 
him  also  capable  of  great  feats.  To  run  or  trot  fast,  in 
heat  after  heat,  requires  not  only  mechanical  fitness, 
such  as  well  proportioned  limbs,  good  bone  and  mus- 
cle, good  lung  power,  etc.,  but  also  an  inward  energy, 
the  "  do  or  die  "  spirit,  as  horsemen  call  it.     Many  a 

1  Opinion  as  to  what  constitutes  excellence  in  horse-flesh  is  very 
diverse.  I  remember  once  hearing  the  praises  of  a  certain  Dobbin 
sung  with  great  enthusiasm  by  a  literary  man.  This  was  the  most 
perfect  horse  in  the  world  ;  but,  on  cross-examination,  perfection 
was  found  to  reside  in  one  quality,  —  wherever  you  left  him,  there 
the  auimal  would  stand  without  being  tied.  You  might  be  gone  a 
year,  and  come  back  to  fiud  him  still  waiting  for  you  in  the  middle 
of  the  road. 


12  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

horse  has  speed  enough  to  make  a  racer,  but  lacks  the 
requisite  courage  and  determination.  "  She  was  tried 
a  good  mare,  but  never  won  anything,"  is  a  phrase 
of  frequent  occurrence  in  William  Day's  reminiscen- 
ces. There  are  cases  in  which  thousands  of  dollars 
have  been  spent  for  fast  trotters  that  were  afterward 
sold  for  a  few  hundreds,  simply  because  they  were  too 
sluggish  and  faint-hearted  to  keep  on  after  they  be- 
came tired.  On  the  other  hand,  almost  all  the  fastest 
horses,  the  "record  breakers,"  whether  among  racers 
or  trotters,  have  been  remarkable  for  their  nervous, 
"high-strung"  constitutions.  The  trainer  of  Sunol 
(the  California  filly,  who  has  a  three-year-old  record 
of  2.10,  and  who  at  four  years  of  age  trotted  a  mile 
upon  a  kite-shaped  track  in  2.0SJ),  after  describing 
the  great  difficulty  that  he  experienced  in  breaking 
her,  says :  "  Xot  that  'she  wTas  actually  vicious,  but 
she  had  and  has  a  will,  a  temper,  and  a  determina- 
tion of  her  own,  and  at  that  time  every  individual 
hair  seemed  to  contain  a  nerve." 

Even  among  the  best  breeds  of  cart  horses,  such  as 
the  Percherons  and  Clydesdales,  the  same  quality  is 
not  altogether  wanting,  and  in  general  it  distinguishes, 
as  I  have  said,  the  horse  from  all  other  dumb  animals. 
It  follows,  of  course,  that  the  horse  is  the  most  irri- 
table of  creatures,  the  most  easilv  worried  and  dis- 
tressed.  Little  things,  such  as  no  other  animal,  man 
included  perhaps,  would  mind,  annoy  and  exasperate 
him.  If,  for  example,  you  notice  a  row  of  express- 
wagon  horses  backed  up  against  the  curbstone,  you 
will  easily  perceive  that  every  horse  there  has  his 
temper  permanently  ruined  by  the  frequent  passing 
of   vehicles   before   him,   thus   obliging   him   to    turn 


THE   ETHICS    OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  13 

his  head.  Harsh  treatment,  though  it  stop  short  of 
inflicting  physical  pain,  keeps  a  nervous  horse  in 
a  state  of  misery.  "An  hostler's  angry  tone  will 
send  a  quiver  of  fear  —  I  have  seen  it  scores  of 
times  —  down  a  whole  barnful  of  stalls."1  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  perfectly  true,  as  a  besotted  but 
intelligent  stable-keeper  once  observed  to  me,  "A 
kind  word  for  a  hoss  is  as  good  sometimes  as  a  feed 
of  oats."  A  single  blow  may  be  enough  to  spoil 
a  racer.  Daniel  Lambert,  founder  of  the  Lambert 
branch  of  the  Morgan  family,  was  thought  as  a  three- 
year-old  to  be  the  fastest  trotting  stallion  of  his 
day.  He  was  a  very  handsome,  stylish,  intelligent 
horse,  and  also  extremely  sensitive.  His  driver,  Dan 
Mace,  though  one  of  the  best  reinsmen  that  the  track 
has  produced,  once  made  the  mistake,  either  through 
ill  temper  or  bad  judgment,  of  giving  Daniel  Lam- 
bert a  severe  cut  with  the  whip,  and  that  single 
blow  put  an  end  to  his  usefulness  as  a  trotter.  He 
became  wild  and  ungovernable  in  harness,  and  re- 
mained so  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

One  of  the  best,  most  docile,  most  intelligent  ani- 
mals that  I  have  known  was  a  powerful  brown 
horse  belonging  to  a  veterinary  surgeon.  When  the 
doctor  was  making  professional  visits  in  the  city 
where  he  lived,  he  would  often  walk  from  one  stable 
to  another,  and  beckon  or  call  to  the  horse  to  follow 
him.  This  the  latter  would  always  do,  waiting  pa- 
tiently meanwhile.  But  if  any  strange  man  or  boy 
mounted  the  gig  and  attempted  to  drive  him  off,  he 
could  not  be  made  to  budge  an   inch.     This    animal 

1  I  quote  this  just  remark  from  a  published  sermon  upon  dumb 
animals,  delivered  by  the  Rev.  G.  L.  Walker  of  Hartford.  Conn. 


14  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

showed  his  intelligence  and  docility  in  many  other 
ways  ;  and  yet  he  had  begun  his  career  in  harness  by 
killing  two  or  three  men,  more  or  less,  and  the  sur- 
geon, who  perceived  that  the  horse  was  naturally 
kind,  and  that  his  temper  had  been  soured  by  ill 
treatment,  purchased  him  for  a  song.  He  served  his 
master  faithfully  for  more  than  twenty  years. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  a  nervous  horse  is  always 
courageous  and  always  intelligent,  nor  to  imply  that 
courageous  intelligent  horses  are  invariably  nervous.1 
But  these  qualities  commonly  go  together ;  and  as  the 
horse  is  distinguished  from  all  other  dumb  beasts  by 
a  highly  developed  nervous  system,  if  I  may  be  for- 
given for  repeating  the  statement,  so  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  the  genus  are  usually  those  in  which  this 
development  is  most  conspicuous.  Hence,  in  dealing 
with  the  horse,  more  than  with  most  animals,  one 
ought  to  exercise  patience,  care,  and,  above  all,  the 
power  of  sympathy,  so  as  to  know,  if  possible,  the 
real  motive  of  his  doing  or  refusing  to  do  this  or 
that.  To  acquire  such  knowledge,  and  to  act  upon 
it  when  acquired,  is  a  large  part  of  the  ethics  of 
horse-keeping. 

In  the  matter  of  shying,  for  example,  great  dis- 
crimination needs  to  be  exercised.     Everybody  knows 

1  It  happens  sometimes,  though  rarely,  that  a  courageous  horse 
is  sluggish  and  has  to  be  "  aroused.''  even  by  the  whip.  Such  an  an- 
imal is  the  trotting  stallion  Wedgewood,  one  of  the  best  "  finishers  " 
ever  seen  on  the  track,  and  famous  for  winning  races  of  numerous 
heats  against  speedier  but  less  enduring  competitors.  Another  type 
is  that  of  the  ambitious,  but  soft  and  washy  horse,  who  goes  off 
at  a  great  pace,  but  soon  tires.  The  ideal  roadster  starts  slowly, 
gradually  warms  to  his  work,  and  after  ten  miles  or  so  (just  when 
the  inferior  horse  has  had  enough)  begins  to  be  fall  of  play. 
Such  pre-eminently  is  the  habit  of  the   Morgan  family. 


THE    ETHICS    OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  15 

that  when  horses  are  in  good  spirits,  especially  in 
cold  weather,  they  will  often  shy  at  sights  or  sounds 
which  under  other  circumstances  they  pass  by  with- 
out notice.  In  such  a  case  it  is  always  assumed  that 
the  horse,  out  of  roguishness,  is  simply  pretending  to 
be  afraid ;  and  commonly  this  is  true.  Frequently, 
indeed,  horses  work  themselves  into  a  condition  of 
panic  for  the  mere  fun  of  the  thing,  —  to  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  running  or  shying  off  from  the  object 
of  their  half-real,  half-fictitious  terror,  just  as  a 
school-girl  might  scurry  through  a  churchyard  at 
dusk. 

In  one  of  Mr.  G-alton's  books  there  is  a  passage 
about  wild  animals  which  throws  light  on  the  conduct 
of  some  tame  animals.  He  says  :  "  From  my  own  recol- 
lection, I  believe  that  every  antelope  in  South  Africa 
has  to  run  for  its  life  every  one  or  two  days  upon  an 
average,  and  that  he  starts  or  gallops  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  false  alarm  many  times  in  a  day.  Those 
who  have  crouched  at  night  by  the  side  of  pools  in 
the  desert,  in  order  to  have  a  shot  at  the  beasts  that 
frequent  them,  see  strange  scenes  of  animal  life :  how 
the  creatures  gambol  at  one  moment  and  fight  at  an- 
other :  how  a  herd  suddenly  halts  in  strained  atten- 
tion,  and  then  breaks  into  a  maddened  rush,  as  one  of 
them  becomes  conscious  of  the  stealthy  movements  or 
rank  scent  of  a  beast  of  prey.  Now  this  hourly  life- 
and-death  excitement  is  a  keen  delight  to  most  wild 
creatures." 

But  there  is  more  behind.  I  am  convinced  that 
nervous  horses,  when  in  high  condition,  and  stimu- 
lated by  the  cold  or  otherwise,  are  often  actually 
frightened  by  objects  which  do  not  thus  affect  them 


16  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

at  other  times.  Their  nerves,  being  more  tense,  send 
a  different  message  to  the  brain.  I  have  seen  a  man 
of  robust  constitution,  but  just  getting  out  after  a 
long  illness,  jump  like  a  colt  when  a  piece  of  white 
paper  blew  across  the  sidewalk  before  him.  Now, 
what  illness  had  done  for  his  nerves,  high  condition, 
cold  air,  want  of  exercise,  will  do  for  the  nerves  of  a 
horse,  especially  if  he  be  a  young  horse ;  and  the 
moral  is,  that  for  shying  thus  brought  about  the  whip 
is  no  cure.  In  fact,  even  for  intentional  shying  the 
use  of  the  whip  does  more  harm  than  good ;  it  is  per- 
missible only  when  the  horse  refuses  to  approach  or 
to  pass  a  particular  object.  If  he  cannot  be  led  or 
coaxed  forward,  then  it  is  well  to  employ  punish- 
ment, for  he  must  never  be  allowed  to  disobey. 

The  success  in  equine  matters  of  which  Americans 
can  fairly  boast  is  due  chieflv  to  the  fact  that  we  have 
consulted  the  equine  nature.  Our  trainers,  perceiving 
that  the  horse  is  a  nervous,  timid,  and  yet  docile  ani- 
mal, have  endeavored  to  win  his  confidence,  rather 
than  to  subdue  his  spirit.  Instead  of  breaking  colts, 
we  "  gentle  "  them ;  and  that  single  word  developed 
in  the  daily  usage  of  the  stable  eloquently  indicates 
the  difference  between  the  old  method  and  the  new, 
between  American  horse-training  and  foreign  horse- 
breaking.  The  superintendent  of  a  large  stock  farm 
'states :  "At  the  age  of  six  months  we  take  up  the 
colts  and  gentle  them.  After  several  weeks  of  this 
work  they  are  again  turned  out.  At  fourteen  months 
old  they  are  taken  up  and  driven  double  with  an  old 
horse,  and  in  a  short  time  they  are  put  in  single  har- 
ness." In  smaller  establishments  even  greater  pains 
are  taken  to  domesticate   tne  colt  from  infancy  up- 


THE    ETHICS    OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  17 

ward;  and  in  general  the  method  is  to  accustom  him 
gradually  to  the  bit,  to  the  harness,  to  being  driven 
and  ridden,  so  that  his  education  is  completed  by  a 
succession  of  small  steps,  each  achieved  without  a 
struggle,  without  rebellion,  without  exciting  the  fear 
or  hatred  of  the  colt.  The  result  is  that  our  horses 
are  commonly  gentle.  I  have  seen  a  high-spirited 
stallion,  on  the  fourth  occasion  of  his  being  in  har- 
ness, driven  to  a  top-wagon,  and  going  so  kindly  that 
the  owner  did  not  hesitate  to  take  his  child  of  three 
years  with  him. 

In  England  great  improvement  in  these  matters  has 
been  made  in  recent  years,  but  the  British  horse- 
trainer  is  still  behind  the  age.  Vicious  horses,  again, 
are  far  more  to  seek  here  than  is  the  case  abroad. 
Abroad  there  is  no  difficulty  in  providing  those  horse- 
breakers  who  perforin  in  public  with  specimens  on 
which  to  exert  their  skill,  —  with  "  man-eaters,"  con- 
firmed kickers,  etc.  But  in  this  country,  when  such 
an  exhibition  is  to  be'  given,  say  in  Xew  York  or  in 
Boston,  it  is  found  almost,  sometimes  quite,  impos- 
sible to  procure  a  beast  savage  enough  to  do  credit 
to  his  subjugator. 

John  Bull  has  accomplished  wonders  with  horses, 
and  nobody,  I  presume,  has  lighter  hands  or  more 
'•faculty"  in  the  management  of  them  than  the  gen- 
tlemen of  England.  But  the  understrappers  and 
grooms,  the  breakers  and  trainers,  lack  the  sympa- 
thetic understanding,  the  gentleness  and  patience, 
that  are  essential  for  the  proper  education  of  a  horse. 
To  discover  what  could  be  done  by  the  exercise  of 
these  qualities  was,  I  make  bold  to  say,  reserved  for 
the  American  trainer ;  and  anybody  who  studies  the 


18  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

history  of  the  trotting  horse  will  perceive  the  truth 
of  this  statement. 

I  read  lately  of  a  former  well  known  M.  F.  H.  who 
kept  an  enormous  equine  establishment,  and  yet 
among  all  his  men  there  was  but  one  tit  to  be  in- 
trusted with  the  exercise  of  his  best  hunters. 

To  create  the  trotter,  increasing  his  speed  within 
seventy-five  years  from  a  mile  in  2.40  to  a  mile  in 
2.08|,  was  perhaps  an  even  greater  achievement  than 
the  development  of  the  modern  thoroughbred  in  the 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  that  have  elapsed  since 
the  importation  to  England  of  the  Godolphin  Arabian. 
The  utility  of  the  achievement  is  another  matter  ;  and 
I  should  confess  to  some  sympathy  with  the  critic 
who  was  inclined  to  estimate  it  lightly.  But  what- 
ever we  may  think  of  the  result,  whether  or  not  we 
hold  that  a  2.08  horse  is  greatly  better  than  a  2.40 
horse,  the  value  of  the  process  by  which  this  result 
was  reached  can  hardly  be  exaggerated.  The  trainers 
of  the  American  trotter  have  taught  the  world  the 
best  lesson  that  it  has  ever  received  in  the  ethics  of 
horse-keeping. 

The  case  of  Johnston,  the  famous  pacer,  illustrates 
what  can  be  accomplished  by  humoring  the  sensitive 
equine  disposition.  "  He  was,"  writes  John  SjiLan, 
his  trainer  and  driver,  "  the  most  nervous  horse  that 
I  ever  saw,  and  I  found  that  in  shipping  him  about 
from  one  track  to  another  he  became  more  nervous 
and  irritable.  If  you  left  him  long  alone  in  the  stable, 
he  would  tramp  around  like  a  wild  animal,  and  get 
himself  in  a  sweat.  If  anybody  went  into  the  stall 
next  to  him,  and  began  to  hammer  or  make  anything 
like  a  loud  noise,  he  would  try  to  climb  out  of  the 


THE   ETHICS    OF    HORSE-KEEPING.  19 

window.  Whenever  a  stranger  stepped  into  his  stall 
he  would  give  a  snort  and  back  into  the  farthest  cor- 
ner." Splan,  with  some  difficulty,  obtained  the  ser- 
vices of  a  quiet,  faithful  "  rubber "  or  groom  called 
"Dave."  Dave  procured  a  dog  as  additional  com- 
pany for  Johnston,  and  these  three  remained  insep- 
arable through  the  period  of  Johnston's  training.  It 
was  a  matter  of  course  that  the  groom  should  sleep 
in  the  stall,  but  he  never  left  it,  day  or  night,  having 
all  his  meals  brought  there.  Under  this  treatment 
Johnston  rapidly  improved.  He  became  less  ner- 
vous, ate  better,  and  in  the  event  lowered  the  pacing 
record  to  2.06^,  a  mark  which  has  not  yet  been  sur- 
passed upon  a  regulation  track. 

There  remains  only  one  branch  of  the  subject  which 
I  feel  bound  to  consider,  namely,  the  duty  of  the 
owner  toward  the  horse  that  has  grown  old  and  in- 
firm in  his  service.  I  say  little  about  the  man  who 
employs  horses  in  the  course  of  his  business ;  let  him 
settle  the  matter  with  his  own  conscience,  though  I 
cannot  refrain  from  the  obvious  remark,  that  whereas 
it  might  be  a  poor  man's  duty  to  sell  his  superannu- 
ated beast  for  what  he  would  bring,  lest  his  family 
should  suffer,  so  it  would  be  the  rich  man's  duty  to 
dispose  of  his  work  horses  in  a  different  manner.  But 
as  regards  horses  bought  and  used  for  pleasure  this 
general  rule  seems  to  me  undeniable,  that  the  owner 
is  morally  bound  to  protect  them  from  cruelty  when 
they  become  old  or  broken  down.  He  may  do  it  by 
killing  them,  or  otherwise,  as  he  sees  fit.  But  how 
seldom  is  this  duty  performed !  It  is  neglected,  pos- 
sibly, more  from  thoughtlessness  than  from  intention. 
A  span  of  carriage  horses,  we  will  say,  after  some 


20  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

years  of  service,  lose  their  style ;  they  become  a  little 
stiff,  a  little  '-sore  forward,"  it  may  be;  one  of  them, 
perhaps,  is  suffering  from  incipient  spavin ;  and  on 
the  whole  it  is  thought  high  time  to  dispose  of  them, 
and  get  a  fresher,  younger  pair.  Accordingly,  John, 
the  groom,  is  directed  to  take  them  to  an  auction 
stable,  and  in  due  course  Dives,  their  old  master,  re- 
ceives in  return  a  cheque,  —  a  very  small  cheque,  to  be 
sure,  but  still  large  enough  to  make  a  respectable  con- 
tribution to  foreign  missions  or  to  purchase  a  case  of 
champagne.  That  is  all  he  knows  about  the  transac- 
tion, and  he  does  not  allow  his  mind  to  dwell  upon 
the  inevitable  results.  But  let  Dives  go  to  the  auction 
stable  himself ;  let  him  observe  the  wistful,  homesick 
air  (for  horses  are  often  homesick)  with  which  the 
old  favorites  look  about  them  when  they  are  backed 
out  of  the  unaccustomed  stalls ;  then  let  him  stand 
by  and  see  them  whipped  up  and  down  the  stable  floor 
to  show  their  tardy  paces,  and  finally  knocked  down 
to  some  hard-faced,  thin-lipped  dealer.  It  needs  very 
little  imagination  to  foresee  their  after  career.  To 
begin  with,  the  old  companions  are  separated.  —  a 
great  grief  to  both,  which  it  requires  a  long  time  to 
obliterate.  The  more  active  one  goes  into  a  country 
livery  stable,  where  he  is  hacked  about  by  people 
whose  only  interest  in  the  beast  is  to  take  out  of  him 
the  pound  of  flesh  for  which  they  have  paid.  He  has 
no  rest  on  week  days,  but  his  Sunday  task  is  the  hard- 
est. On  that  sacred  day,  the  reprobates  of  the  village 
who  have  arrived  at  the  perfect  age  of  cruelty  (which 
I  take  to  be  about  nineteen  or  twenty)  lash  the  old 
carriage  horse  from  one  public  house  to  another,  and 
bring  him  home  exhausted  and  reeking  with  sweat. 


THE    ETHICS    OP    HORSE-KEEPING.  21 

His  mate  goes  into  a  job  wagon  perhaps,  possibly 
into  a  herdic,  and  is  driven  by  night  lest  his  staring 
ribs  and  the  painful  lameness  in  his  hind  leg  should 
attract  the  notice  of  meddlesome  persons.  The  last 
stage  of  maii}r  a  downward  equine  career  is  found  in 
the  shafts  of  a  fruit  pedler's  or  junk  dealer's  wagon, 
in  which  situation  there  is  continual  exposure  to  heat 
and  cold,  to  rain  and  snow,  recompensed  by  the  least 
possible  amount  of  food.  It  may  be  that  one  of  the 
old  horses  whose  fate  we  are  considering  is  finally 
bought  by  some  poverty-stricken  farmer ;  he  works 
without  grain  in  summer,  and  passes  long  winter 
nights  in  a  cold  and  draughty  barn,  with  scanty  cov- 
ering, and  no  bed  but  the  floor.  It  is  hard  that 
in  his  old  age,  when,  like  an  old  man,  he  feels  the 
cold  most,  and  is  most  in  need  of  nourishing  food,  he 
should  be  deprived  of  all  the  comforts  —  the  warm 
stall  and  soft  bed,  the  good  blankets  and  plentiful 
oats  —  which  were  heaped  upon  him  in  youth. 

If,  as  is  probably  the  case,  the  old  carriage  horse 
has  been  docked,  his  suffering  in  warm  weather  will 
greatly  be  increased.  That  form  of  mutilation  which 
we  call  docking  is,  I  believe,  inartistic  and  barbarous, 
and  I  do  not  doubt  that  before  many  years  it  will  be- 
come obsolete,  as  is  now  the  cropping  of  horses'  ears, 
which  was  practised  so  late  as  1840.  But  still  I 
should  not  utterly  condemn  the  owner  for  docking  his 
horses,  or  buying  them  after  they  had  been  docked, 
which  comes  to  the  same  thing,  if  his  intention  and 
custom  were  to  keep  them  so  long  as  they  lived. 
But  to  dock  a  horse,  thus  depriving  him  forever  of 
his  tail,  to  keep  him  till  he  is  old  or  broken  down, 
and  then  to  sell  him   for  what  he  will  bring,  is  the 


22  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

very  refinement  of  cruelty.  The  Anglomaniacs,  to 
whom  we  owe  the  revival  of  clocking,  should  consider 
that  in  our  climate  of  flies  and  mosquitos  the  practice 
is  infinitely  more  cruel  than  it  is  in  England. 

I  have   endeavored  to  show  that  the  horse  is  an 
animal  peculiarly  capable  of  suffering,  and  to  suggest 
some  of  the  ways  in  which  his  suffering  can  be  pre- 
vented or  alleviated.     Of  late  years,  thanks  largely 
to  anti-cruelty  societies,  the  horse  has  been  less  abused 
than  was  formerly  the   case.     But  let  any  one,  and 
especially   any   one   who   may  have   a  fancy  for  the 
human  race,  consider  what  awful  arrears  of  cruelty 
to  dumb  animals  have  accrued  at  its  hands.     Let  him 
think  of  the  horses  that  have  been  baited  to  death,  as 
bulls   are   baited  ;  let   him  think  of  the  unspeakable 
remedies  that  have  been  applied  by  ignorant  farriers 
and  grooms,  such  as  the  forcing  of  ground  glass  into 
the   animal's   eye ;  let  him  think   of  the  horses  that 
have  been  "whipped  sound"   in   coaches   and  heavy 
wagons,  —  that   is,   compelled  by   the   lash   to   travel 
chiefly  on  three  legs,  one  leg  or  foot  being  disabled, 
until  the  overwrought  muscles  gave  out  entirely ;  let 
him  think  of  the  agonies  that  have  been  inflicted  by 
beating  and  spurring,  of  the  heavy  loads  that  a  vast 
army  of  painfully  lame,  of  diseased,  and  even  of  dying 
horses  have  been  forced  to  draw.     Let  him  take  but  a 
single  glance  at  the  history  of  the  human  race  in  this 
respect,  and  another  perhaps  at  his  own  heart,   and 
then  declare  if  it  be  not  true,  as  was  once   remarked 
to  me,1    "Man  deserves  a  hell,  were   it   only  for  his 
treatment  of  horses." 

1  By  the  late  John  Boyle  O'Reilly. 


II. 


T 


TROTTING   FAMILIES. 


HE  American  trotting  horse  is  derived  from  these 


sources  :  — 
The  English  thoroughbred.1 
The  Norfolk  trotter. 
The  Arab  and  Barb. 
Certain  pacers  of  mixed  breeding. 
.And  just  as  the  best  running  horses  now  extant  in 

1  A  thoroughbred  is  one  all  of  whose  ancestors,  back  to  the 
eighteenth  century,  are  recorded  either  in  the  English  or  in  the 
American  Stud  Book  for  running  horses.  The  American  work  is 
a  continuation  for  this  country  of  the  English.  The  first  volume 
of  the  English  Stud  Book  was  issued  in  1808,  and  an  annual  volume 
of  each  book  is  published. 

A  thoroughbred  is,  therefore,  a  horse  of  pure  running  stock. 
The  origin  of  this  stock,  which  is  chiefly  Oriental,  will  be  found 
stated  briefly  at  page  118. 


24  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

England  are  descended  from  three  or  four  animals 
foaled  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  bred  chiefly 
from  Arab  importations,  so  the  American  trotter  of 
to-day  can  usually  be  referred  to  one  or  more  of  the 
following  ancestors  :  Messenger,  True  Briton,  and  Di- 
omed,  thoroughbreds  ;  Bellfounder,  a  Norfolk  trotter  ; 
Grand  Bashaw,  a  Barb ;  Pilot,  a  Canadian  pacer  ;  and 
Blue  Bull,  a  pacer  from  the  State  of  Ohio. 

Of  these  horses  Messenger  has  played  the  greatest 
part.  He  was  a  gray,  foaled  at  Newmarket  in  Eng- 
land in  the  year  1780,  and  imported  to  this  country  in 
1788.  For  a  thoroughbred,  he  was  a  plain,  almost 
coarse  animal,  with  a  big,  bony  head,  low  withers,  up- 
right shoulders,  and  a  rather  short,  straight  neck.  But 
his  shoulders  were  deep  and  strong,  his  loins  and  quar- 
ters very  powerful,  his  legs  flat  and  clean.  He  had  big 
knees,  big  hocks  ;  and  his  windpipe  and  nostrils  were 
described  by  a  contemporary  writer  as  being  "  nearly 
twice  as  large  as  ordinary."  He  stood  15|  hands  high, 
and,  "  whether  at  rest  or  in  motion,  his  legs  were  always 
in  a  perfect  position."  The  low  withers,  the  upright 
shoulders,  the  plain  head,  Messenger  inherited  from 
Sampson,  his  great-grandsire,1  a  black  horse  ;  and  these 
peculiarities,  as  well  as  the  black  color,  were  so  ex- 
traordinary in  a  horse  of  Oriental  breeding,  that  suspi- 
cions have  been  entertained  as  to  Sampson's  pedigree, 
and  some  writers  have  asserted  that  his  dam  was  a  Lin- 
colnshire cart  mare.  But  the  best  authorities  do  not 
appear  to  share  these  painful  doubts,  and  Sampson  may 
safely  be  regarded  as  a  true  thoroughbred,  close  to  the 

1  Messenger  was  by  Mambrino,  by  Engineer,  by  Sampson,  by 
Blaze,  by  Flying  Childers,  by  the  Darley  Arabian.  Messenger's  dam 
was  by  Turf,  by  Matchem,  by  Cade,  by  the  Godolphin  Arabian. 


TROTTING   FAMILIES.  25 

Arab  foundation.  At  all  events,  he  was  superlatively 
excellent  both  as  a  race  horse  and  as  a  sire,  and  Mes- 
senger inherited  most  of  his  good  qualities,  but  not  his 
extreme  speed.  Messenger,  though  running  bred,  was 
a  natural  trotter,  —  the  more  so,  perhaps,  on  account 
of  his  somewhat  straight  shoulders  and  low  withers. 
It  is  true  indeed  that  certain  of  our  very  fastest 
trotters,  notably  Axtell  and  Palo  Alto,  have  sloping 
shoulders  and  fairly  high  withers  ;  but  the  Messenger 
or  Sampson  conformation  is  that  of  the  typical  trotter. 
Maud  S.,1  Sunol,2  and  Nancy  Hanks  3  are  built  thus. 

Messenger  was  an  animal  of  great  soundness  and 
vigor.  One  who  saw  him  taken  off  the  ship  was  ac- 
customed to  relate  that  three  other  horses,  his  com- 
panions on  the  long  voyage,  "had  become  so  reduced 
and  weak  that  they  had  to  be  helped  and  supported 
down  the  gang-plank  ;  but  when  it  became  Messenger's 
turn  to  land,  he,  with  a  loud  neigh,  rushed  down,  with 
a  negro  on  each  side  holding  him  back,  and  dashed  up 
the  street  at  a  stiff  trot,  carrying  the  grooms  along  in 
spite  of  all  their  efforts  to  bring  him  to  a  standstill." 
"When  Messenger  charged  down  the  gang-plank," 
Hiram  Woodruff  declared,  "  the  value  of  not  less  than 
one  hundred  million  dollars  struck  our  soil." 

Messenger  died  of  colic,  at  Oyster  Bay  on  Long 
Island,  in  January,  1808,  being  then  twenty-eight 
years  of  age,  and  having  attained  such  a  height  of 
equine  reputation  that  he  was  buried  with  military 
honors,  and  a  charge  of  musketry  was  fired  over  his 
grave. 

1  Her  record  is  2.08|. 

2  Her  record  is  2.08^  on  a  kite-shaped  track. 

3  See  page  87. 


26  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

Xearly  fifty  years  later,  in  November,  1854,  an  old 
bay  horse  called  Abdallah  was  turned  out  on  the  sands 
of  this  same  Long  Island,  and  abandoned  to  die  of  cold 
and  starvation.  He  had  been  sold  for  thirty-five  dol- 
lars  to  a  fisherman,  who  attempted  to  put  him  in  har- 
ness. But  Abdallah  had  never  been  broken  to  harness, 
and  being  of  a  vicious  temper  he  kicked  the  fish-wagon 
to  pieces,  and  thereupon  the  fisherman  cruelly  cast  him 
adrift.  Abdallah  was  a  grandson  of  Messenger,1  and, 
so  far  as  we  know,  the  best  of  his  descendants  in  that 
generation.  He  was  an  ugly,  rat-tailed  horse,  but  big, 
strong,  tough,  and  a  fast  trotter.  Unlike  the  Messen- 
ger stock  in  general,  he  had  fine  sloping  shoulders. 
Abdallah  was  the  sire  of  Eysdyck's  Hambletonian,2 
who  founded  the  noted  trotting  family  called  the 
Hambletonians.3 

The  dam  of  Eysdyck's  Hambletonian,  known  to 
fame  as  the  Charles  Kent  mare,  was  of  a  lineage  en- 
tirely different,  for  her  sire  was  Bellfounder.  a  Nor- 
folk trotter.  Bellfounder  was  imported  in  1822  by 
Mr.  James  Boott,  a  rich  merchant  of  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, who  paid  seven  hundred  pounds  sterling  for 

1  Abdallah  was  sired  by  Mambrino.  Mambrino  was  by  Mes- 
senger, out  of  a  mare  by  imported  Sour-Crout.  Abdallah's  dam 
was  said  to  be  by  another  son  of  Messenger. 

-  The  sire  of  his  grandam  was  called  Bishop's  "  Hamiltonian." 
after  Alexander  Hamilton.  The  name  was  however  corrupted  to 
"Hambletonian,"  which  was  also  the  name  of  an  English  race 
horse  bred  in  Hambleton.  a  district  of   Yorkshire. 

3  Of  the  twenty  trotting  stallions  who  stand  highest  on  the  list, 
judging  by  the  records  of  their  sons  and  daughters,  all  but  two  are 
descended  from  Eysdyck's  Hambletonian,  either  on  the  paternal  or 
maternal  side ;  and  of  those  two  one  is  also  a  descendant  of  Mes- 
senger (in  a  different  line),  and  the  breeding  of  the  other  is  un- 
known on  the  dam's  side. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  27 

him.  He  was  a  handsome  round-built  bay  horse  with 
black  points,  and  he  is  said  to  have  trotted  in  England 
nine  miles  in  twenty-nine  minutes  and  thirty-eight 
seconds,  and  two  miles  in  six  minutes.  Bellfounder 
was  of  the  same  blood  from  which  the  modern  hackney 
is  derived,  and  of  much  the  same  origin  as  that  famous 
Marshland  Shales  whose  name  is  preserved  in  the 
works  of  George  Borrow.  An  old  advertising  card 
was  discovered  some  years  ago,  in  which  it  is  stated 
that  Bellfounders  dam  was  Velocity.  In  1806  Velo- 
city was  matched  to  trot  sixteen  miles  within  an  hour 
on  the  Norwich  road,  and  although  she  broke  into  a 
gallop  fifteen  times,  "  and  as  often  turned  round  "  (that 
being  the  penalty),  she  won  the  match. 

Bellfounder  was  described  as  "  plump  in  form  and 
muscular  in  all  his  parts,"  and  as  having  "a  fine, 
slashing  gait."  He  contributed  to  the  Hambletonian 
family  that  mildness  of  temper  for  which,  unlike 
the  earlier  Messengers,  they  have  always  been  distin- 
guished. 

Eysdyck's  Hambletonian  was  an  animal  of  extraor- 
dinary appearance,  looking  very  much  as  a  locomo- 
tive might  look  if  it  were  turned  into  a  horse  with  no 
more  changes  than  were  necessary  to  effect  the  trans- 
formation. He  had  a  long,  round  body,  like  the  boiler 
of  an  engine,  of  almost  the  same  girth  throughout. 
His  neck  was  short  and  straight,  and  he  had  a  big, 
ugly  head,  surmounted  by  ears  which,  though  large 
and  coarse,  were  a  little  too  well  shaped  to  be  posi- 
tively ill-bred.  His  expression  was  good,  phlegmatic 
but  amiable,  and  full  of  character.  He  stood  very 
firm  and  solid,  on  feet  perfect  in  shape  and  texture  ; 
and  his  legs  were  flat,  clean,  heavily  muscled,  and  free 


28  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

from  gumminess  or  swelling  even  in  his  old  age.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  add  that  his  tail  was  set  low  and 
carried  low,  for  there  was  nothing  ornamental  about 
Rysdyck's  Hambletonian.  His  hind  quarters  were 
very  powerful,  and  he  had  great  length  from  hip  to 
hock.  The  rump  was  rather  round  than  sloping. 
Altogether  he  presented  the  appearance  of  a  service- 
able, practical  beast,  fit,  when  well  warmed  up,  to  trot 
for  a  man's  life,  as  the  phrase  is,  but  neither  beautiful 
nor  lively.  In  color  he  took  after  the  Bellfounder 
strain,  being  a  rich,  deep  bay  with  black  points,  and 
this  color  was  transmitted  to  his  descendants  with 
singular  uniformity.1 

The  Hambletonians,  indeed,  have  a  marked  family 
resemblance.  They  are  almost  always  big  bay  horses, 
with  large  ears,  drooping  tails,  a  long,  wide  gait,  and 
a  sleepy  disposition.  Thus  it  appears  that  they  are 
ill  adapted  for  roadster  purposes,  whether  in  form,  in 
action,  or  in  character ;  and  the  predominance  of  the 
family  is,  on  the  whole,  to  be  regretted.  It  has  in- 
creased the  speed,  but  lessened  the  beauty  and  dulled 
the  spirit  of  our  average  harness  horse.  Hambleto- 
nian himself  had  no  record,  but  he  was  undoubtedly 
fast.  His  chief  points  of  excellence  were  his  long 
trotting  gait,  his  muscular  development,  the  fine  qual- 
ity of  his  bones  and  sinews.  It  is  estimated  that  he 
sired  about  1,340  foals,  and  of  these  only  forty  made 
records  of  2.30  or  better.    Hambletonian's  reputation  is 

1  The  following  measurements  of  Hambletonian  may  interest 
certain  of  my  readers.  He  stood  15.1  at  the  withers,  and  15.3  at 
the  rump.  His  knee  was  13|  inches  in  circumference,  his  hock  17^ 
inches.  From  the  centre  of  the  hip-joint  to  the  point  of  the  hock 
he  measured  41  inches  ;  from  the  point  of  the  stifle  to  the  point  of 
the  hock,  the  length  of  his  thigh  was  24  inches. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  29 

established  by  his  more  remote  descendants,  in  whom 
the  cart-horse  qualities  inherited  from  the  Bellfounder 
strain  were  overcome  by  an  infusion  of  thoroughbred 
or  Arab  blood.  His  best  sons  were  invariably  from 
high-bred  mares.  Perhaps  the  best  of  all  was  Alex- 
ander's Abdallah.1  This  grand  horse  came  to  an  end 
more  untimely  and  no  less  cruel  than  that  suffered  by 
his  grandsire  Abdallah.  In  February,  1865,  just  be- 
fore the  Civil  War  closed,  Alexander's  Abdallah  was 
stolen  by  a  Rebel  guerilla  from  his  owner's  farm  at 
Woodburn,  Kentucky.  The  next  day  he  wras  recap- 
tured by  a  Federal  soldier,  ridden  fifty  miles  unshod, 
and  then  abandoned  at  the  roadside  without  food  or 
shelter.  He  died  a  few  days  later  of  pneumonia. 
Among  his  few  descendants  are  Belmont,2  Almont, 
and  Thorndale,  all  of  whom  founded  subordinate  trot- 
ting families,  and  the  famous  Goldsmith  Maid,  whose 
career  will  be  glanced  at  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 
Other  noted  sons  of  Rysdyck's  Hambletonian  are 
George  Wilkes  and  Electioneer,  both  of  whose  dams 
were  of  the  Clay  family  (presently  to  be  described), 
Volunteer  (whose  dam  was  a  high-bred  mare  called 
Lady  Patriot),  Happy  Medium,  Harold  (the  sire  of 
Maud  S.),  Strathmore,  Dictator,  and  Aberdeen.  At 
present,  the  two  most  popular  trotting  families  are 
those  founded  by  George  Wilkes  and  Electioneer, 
respectively.  Both  of  these  horses  were  bred  in  New 
York  State,  but  Wilkes  passed  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  in  Kentucky,  and  Electioneer  stood  for  many 

1  His  dam  was  a  small,  wiry  bay  mare,  who  showed  signs  of 
high  breeding.  Her  pedigree  is  uutraced,  but  she  is  said  to  have 
descended  from  Mambrino,  son  of  Messenger. 

2  Sire  of  Nutwood  and  of  Wedgewood. 


80  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

years  at  the  head  of  Governor  Stanford's  famous  farm 
in  California.  He  is  the  sire  of  Sunol,  of  Palo  Alto, 
whose  dam  was  a  thoroughbred,  of  Arion,  and  of  many 
other  fast  trotters. 

Neither  the  Wilkeses  nor  the  Electioneers  pure  and 
simple  are  possessed  of  much  style  or  beauty,  nor  are 
they  suitable  for  roadster  use  ;  but  some  of  the  younger 
branches  in  each  family  where  other  blood  has  been 
introduced  excel  in  these  respects,  as  well  as  in 
trotting  speed. 

There  is  another  strain  descended  from  Messenger 
scarcely  inferior  to  the  Hambletonians  in  speed,  equal 
to  them  in  soundness,  and  far  superior  in  point  of 
elegance  and  spirit.  This  is  the  Kentucky  family  of 
Mambrino  Chief,1  and  more  especially  of  his  son,  Mam- 
brino  Patchen.  The  dam  of  Mambrino  Patchen  was 
the  Eodes  mare,  by  Gano,2  a  thoroughbred.  Mambrino 
Patchen  himself  was  a  very  beautiful  black  horse, 
about  sixteen  hands  high,  with  sloping  shoulders, 
high  withers,  a  fine  arched  neck,  a  tail  well  put  on  and 
well  carried.  In  fact,  this  whole  family  is  noted  for 
the  proud  and  graceful  carriage  of  its  tails,  so  much 
so  that  some  detractors  have  insinuated  that  artificial 
means  were  used  to  produce  this  effect.  An  own 
sister  of  Mambrino  Patchen  was  Lady  Thorne,  perhaps 
the  best  trotting  mare,  all  things  considered,  ever  bred. 
She  was  a  blood  bay,  16^  hands  high,  with  the  marks 

1  Foaled  in  1844;  by  Mambrino  Paymaster,  be  by  Mambrino,  a 
thoroughbred  son  of  Messenger.  The  dam  of  Mambrino  Chief 
cannot  be  traced,  but  she  was  a  fine,  strong,  courageous  animal, 
and  a  great  roadster. 

2  Gano  was  a  son  of  American  Eclipse.  The  grandam  and  great- 
grandam  of  Mambrino  Patchen  were  also  half-bred  horses  of  much 
quality,  sound  and  long-lived. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  31 

of  a  thoroughbred.  Her  record  is  only  2.18^,  but  she 
beat  all  the  fastest  horses  of  her  day,  including  Dexter, 
Mountain  B03-,  Goldsmith  Maid,  American  Girl,  Lucy, 
and  George  Palmer,  and  had  it  not  been  for  an  injury 
to  her  hip  received  while  she  was  being  taken  from 
a  car  she  would  doubtless  have  lowered  this  record. 
The  accident  compelled  her  retirement  from  the 
turf.  There  is  a  tradition  that  Dan  Mace  once  drove 
Lady  Thome  a  mile  in  2.08  and  a  fraction,  and  it  is 
fairly  well  established  that  she  trotted  a  trial  mile 
in  2.101. 

The  best  son  of  Mambrino  Patchen  is  Mambrino 
King.1  now  twenty  years  of  age,  but  still  a  prize 
winner  at  horse  shows.  There  is  a  singular  unanimity 
of  opinion  about  this  animal,  for,  so  far  as  I  can  as- 
certain, all  who  have  seen  him  pronounce  Mambrino 
Kino:  to  be  the  handsomest  horse  in  the  world.  Such 
is  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Robert  Bonner,  for  example, 
in  this  country,  of  Mr.  Burdett-Coutts  in  England,  and 
of  those  Continental  connoisseurs  in  horse-flesh  who 
have  visited  this  country.  Among  the  latter  is  Baron 
Favorot  de  Kerbeck,  a  French  Colonel  of  Dragoons, 
who.  with  two  other  officers,  was  sent  to  the  United 
States  by  his  government,  a  few  years  ago,  to  inspect 
our  horses.     He  reported :  — 

"  Mambrino  King  is  the  most  splendid  specimen  we 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  admiring.  Imagine  an 
Alfred  de  Dreux,  a  burnt  chestnut,  whole  colored, 
standing  15.3  hands,  with  an  expressive  head,  large, 
intelligent,  and  spirited  eyes,  well  opened  lower  jaws, 
well  set  ears,  the  neck  and  shoulders  splendidly  shaped, 

1  His  dam  was  by  Edwin  Forrest,  a  half-bred  horse  raised  in 
Kentucky. 


32  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

long,  and  gracefully  rounded  off,  the  shoulders  strong 
and  thrown  back  well,  the  withers  well  in  place  and 
top  muscular,  the  ribs  round  and  loins  superb,  the 
crupper  long  and  broad,  limbs  exceedingly  fine,  the 
joints  powerful,  the  tail  carried  majestically,  and  all 
the  movements  high  and  spirited,  —  imagine  all  this, 
and  you  will  have  an  idea  of  this  stallion.  He  is  as 
fine,  if  we  look  at  him  in  front,  as  he  is  in  his  hind 
quarters,  the  whole  animal  being  an  embodiment  of 
purity  of  lines,  elegance,  and  elasticity.  He  is  in  fact 
perfection." 

Some  years  ago  Mambrino  King  was  stigmatized  by 
many  practical  horsemen,  whose  ideal  trotter  was  a 
coarse-bred  brute,  as  the  Dude  Stallion ;  but  since  his 
sons  and  daughters  have  displayed  both  speed  and 
gameness  in  numerous  hard  fought  races,  Mambrino 
King's  solid  qualities  are  no  longer  questioned. 

Having,  then,  such  horses  as  Mambrino  King,  as 
Quartermaster,1  Alcantara,2  Ivy  wood,3  and  many  others 
like  them,  it  seems  absurd  that  we  should  import  for 
our  driving  hackneys  from  England,  which  do  not  sur- 
pass the  American  horses  just  mentioned  in  any  re- 
spect, and  are  far  inferior  to  them  in  speed.  In  this 
connection  I  will  quote  a  remark  from  the  present 
Duke  of  Marlborough's  account  of  his  visit  to  the  stock 
farms  of  Kentucky.  "The  small  farmer,"  he  says, 
"  drives  an  animal  that  would  leave  the  English  farmer 
on  his  way  to  market  in  the  last  parish,  while  the 
amateur  can  buy  for  £150  to  £200  a  pair  of  animals 
which  could  not  be  obtained  in  England  for  double  the 

1  A  great-grandson  of  Mambrino  Patchen,  sired  by  Alcyone,  a 
son  of  George  Wilkes. 

-  A  grandson  of  Mambrino  Patchen,  own  brother  to  Alcyone. 
3  A  son  of  Wedge  wood. 


I !. 


* 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  33 

money,  and  are  able  to  go  at  a  speed  far  greater  than 
our  best  Norfolk  trotters  can  manage." 

I  have  now  indicated  the  two  most  important  trot- 
ting- families  descended  from  Messenger,  and  there  are 
others  but  little  inferior.  Vermont  had  the  Harris 
Hambletonian,  a  grandson  of  Messenger,  out  of  a  gray 
••  English  mare."  fie  was  a  gray  himself,  and  so  were 
most  of  his  descendants.  This  horse  was  the  sire  of 
Sontag,  who  once  beat  Flora  Temple  in  a  match  race, 
and  grandsire  of  the  Morse  horse,  among  whose  de- 
scendants was  Lulu,  with  a  record  of  2.14^,  and  Gov- 
ernor Sprague,  a  trotting  stallion  of  high  reputation. 

Maine  had  Winthrop  Messenger  and  the  Bush  Mes- 
senger. The  Bush  Messengers  were  almost  invariably 
chestnuts.  Fanny  Pullen,  dam  of  Trustee,1  the  first 
horse  to  trot  twenty  miles  within  an  hour,  was  a  Bush 
Messenger. 

Still  another  Messenger  strain,  and  one  of  more 
"quality"  than  the  rest,  is  that  of  the  Champions. 
In  the  first  quarter  of  this  century,  one  Mr.  John 
Tredwell  of  Long  Island  had  a  pair  of  extraordinarily 
fast  and  enduring  road  mares,  called  Amazonia  and 
Sophronisba,  the  former  being  of  Messenger  descent, 
and  the  latter  a  granddaughter  of  imported  Baronet.2 
In  1823  both  of  these  mares  produced  foals  by  Mam- 
brino,  son  of  Messenger.  Amazonia's  foal  was  Abdal- 
lah,  sire,  as  we  have  seen,  of  the  famous  Rysdyck's 
Hambletonian,  and  Sophronisba's  foal  was  Almack, 
sire  of  Grinnell's  Champion,3  first  of  the  name,  and 

1  His  sire  was  imported  Trustee,  a  thoroughbred. 

2  By  Vertumnus  out  of  Penultima.  Barouet,  a  bay  horse,  was 
noted  for  his  beauty. 

3  The  dam  of  Grinnell's  Champion  was  by  Engineer,  and  his 
gran  dam  by  the  famous  American  Eclipse. 

3 


84  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

founder    of   the    f amity.      This    horse    was    thus    de- 
scribed by  one  who  had  seen  him  :  — 

"He  was  a  golden  chestnut,  about  sixteen  hands, 
with  a  perfect  diamond  on  his  nose,  and  two  white 
socks  behind.  In  his  general  make-up  he  partook 
much  of  the  thoroughbred  appearance  :  the  lightness 
of  his  head  and  neck,  his  wiry  leg  and  elastic  move- 
ment, his  glossy  coat  and  waveless  mane  and  tail, 
shaded  from  a  darker  hue  to  a  bright  tint  on  the 
edge,  —  in  all  a  perfect  type  of  the  high-bred  runner. 
He  was  exhibited  at  the  State  Fair  at  Auburn,  Kew 
York,  in  1848.  I  can  never  forget,  though  I  was 
very  young  at  the  time,  this  eventful  show,  as  he 
assumed  a  position  among  his  rivals  which  bade 
defiance  to  the  artist.  He  seemed  to  realize  the  ad- 
miration with  which  he  was  regarded  by  the  immense 
throng  about  him." 

The  rich  chestnut  color,  the  high  spirit,  the  well- 
bred  look,  displayed  by  GrinnelTs  Champion,  distin- 
guish the  family  to  this  day,  and  it  is  probably  owing 
more  to  accident  and  mismanagement  than  to  any 
deficiency  that  the  Champions  are  few  in  number, 
and  of  less  reputation  than  the  Hambletonians.  The 
fastest  of  the  family  was  the  Auburn  horse,  who 
belonged  to  Mr.  Eobert  Bonner.1 

The  Auburn  horse  was  the  last  of  those  famous 
trotters  which,  as  one  writer  remarks  with  pardona- 
ble extravagance,  were  stabled  in  Hiram  Woodruff's 
brain.2     In  the   autumn   of  1864,  just  before   winter 

1  He  was  a  son  of  King's  Champion,  his  dam  being  by  Red 
Bird,  son  of  Billy  Duroc,  by  Duroc,  son  of  imported  Diomecl. 

2  Mr.  Woodruff,  a  genius  in  the  art  of  horsemanship,  and  a 
very  honest  man,  was  the  author  of  "  The  Trotting  Horse  of 
America,"  by  far  the  most   interesting  work  upon  the  subject.    • 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  35 

closed  in  and  the  ground  became  frozen,  the  Auburn 
horse  showed  a  flight  of  speed  that  set  Mr.  Woodruff's 
household  and  stable  in  commotion.  On  alighting 
from  the  sulky,  he  declared  that  he  had  just  been  car- 
ried faster  than  he  ever  rode  before  in  his  life,  and 
he  made  the  same  remark  to  Mr.  Bonner  later  in  the 
day,  when  that  gentleman  paid  the  stable  a  visit. 
"  But,"  said  Mr.  Bonner,  "  you  rode  at  the  rate  of 
two  minutes  to  the  mile  behind  Peerless  for  a  quar- 
ter. Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  rode  faster  behind 
the  Auburn  horse  than  behind  the  gray  mare  ? ' 
Woodruff  answered,  "  Faster  than  behind  the  gray 
mare,  —  faster  than  I  ever  rode  before  behind  any 
horse."  This  was  probably  true,  for  he  was  a  man 
not  given  to  overstatement ;  but  early  in  the  follow- 
ing spring,  before  the  season  opened,  Hiram  Woodruff 
died,  and  the  Auburn  horse  did  not  long  survive  him. 
So  much  for  the  chief  strains  of  trotting  blood 
derived  from  Messenger.  Next  in  importance  among 
founders  of  the  trotter  comes  the  Barb  or  Arab, 
Grand  Bashaw,  who  was  imported  from  Tripoli  in 
1820.  He  is  described  as  a  very  beautiful  little  black 
horse,  about  14.1  high,  with  a  small  star  in  his  fore- 
head. He  died  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  year  1845. 
Among  his  sons  was  Young  Bashaw,  a  larger  and 
much  coarser  animal,  and  gray  in  color  like  his  dam, 
who  was  Pearl,  by  Bond's  First  Consul ;  his  grandam 
was  a  Messenger  mare.  Young  Bashaw  sired  Andrew 
Jackson,1  the  fastest  trotting  stallion  of  his  day,  a 
black  horse,  strong,  compact,  and  short-legged.  When 
Andrew  Jackson  was  foaled,  his  dam  was  the  prop- 
erty of  one  Daniel  Jeffreys,  a  brickmaker,    and  the 

1  His  dam  was  a  pacer,  and  nothing  more  is  known  of  her. 


36  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

first  act  of  the  little  colt  was  to  tumble  luto  a  pit 
where  clay  had  been  mixed  for  making  bricks.  He 
was  rescued  from  this  hole  in  a  very  sorry  condition, 
and  either  on  account  of  the  accident,  or  from  natural 
weakness,  he  was  unable  to  stand  upright.  His  pas- 
tern joints  bent  under  his  weight,  and  altogether  he 
appeared  to  be  so  wretched  and  worthless  a  creature 
that  Mr.  Jeffreys  gave  orders  to  have  him  killed. 
But  his  wife  interceded,  begged  that  the  foal's  life 
might  be  spared,  and  undertook  to  look  after  him 
herself.  The  colt  was  accordingly  permitted  to  live, 
a  little  careful  nursing  soon  brought  him  round,  and 
thus,  through  the  pity  of  a  woman,  did  the  ances- 
tor of  all  the  Clays  escape  being  murdered  in  his  in- 
fancy. It  is  an  odd  fact  that  Vermont  Blackhawk, 
founder  of  the  trotting  branch  of  the  Morgan  fam- 
ily, and  one  of  the  handsomest  horses  that  ever 
lived,  was  also  condemned  to  death  bv  his  owner 
because  of  the  weak  and  ugly  appearance  that  he 
first  made  in  the  world.  In  his  case  it  was  the 
groom  who  successfully  interceded  for  his  life.  The 
same  thing  is  true  of  Santa  Claus,  one  of  the  best 
grandsons  of  Rysdyck's  Hambletonian.  Andrew  Jack- 
son was  the  sire  of  Henry  Clay,  founder  of  the  Clay 
family,  his  dam  being  a  Canadian  trotting  mare  called 
Surrev,  of  unknown  breeding. 

Some  writers  assert  that  Henry  Clay's  good  quali- 
ties as  a  trotter  were  derived  from  the  Messenger 
element  in  his  composition ;  but  it  is  a  striking  fact, 
that  in  form,  in  disposition,  and  in  color  he  resembled 
his  great-grandsire  Grand  Bashaw  very  closely.  He 
was  a  coal-black  horse  with  a  beautiful  white  cres- 
cent on  his  face,  "  very  perfect,  the  line  of  it  extend- 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  37 

ing  up  and  down,  that  is,  one  horn  above  the  eyes, 
the  other  below.*"  He  had  the  curved  neck,  the  fine 
sloping  shoulders,  the  round  swelling  barrel,  the 
small  ears,  the  springy  pasterns,  the  tough,  round 
feet  of  a  Barb  or  Arab  horse.  In  the  hind  parts, 
however,  he  took  after  his  dam.  His  hips  were 
sharp,  the  rump  was  long  and  drooping.  He  had 
great  length  from  hip  to  hock,  the  invariable  forma- 
tion of  a  trotter,  and  his  tail  was  thick  and  wavy,  with 
a  few  white  hairs  at  the  dock. 

"  In  disposition  and  temper,"  writes  Mr.  Bandolph 
Huntington,  "  he  was  a  very  lovable  horse.  The 
last  time  I  went  to  see  him  was  in  October,  1865. 
Henry  Clay  was  then  twenty-eight  years  old.  Mr. 
Fellows,  who  owned  him,  knew  that  I  loved  the  old 
horse,  and  asked  me  if  I  would  not  like  to  see  him  out. 
However,  not  wishing  to  trouble  him,  and  knowing 
that  Henry  Clay  had  long  been  blind,  I  answered, 
'  Never  mind,'  but  the  door  of  his  box  was  swung 
wide  open,  and  after  a  cheerful,  '  Come,  Henry/  from 
his  master,  the  old  horse  sailed  out  into  the  barnyard 
with  as  lofty  and  as  sure  a  step  as  though  he  could  see 
every  spot  in  which  it  was  possible  to  place  a  foot." 

Henry  Clay  was  a  horse  of  great  bottom  and  of 
sound  constitution,  as  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the 
fact  that  he  lived  to  be  twenty-nine  years  old,  notwith- 
standing the  hard  usage  to  which  he  was  subjected. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  he  was  once  driven  ninety 
miles  in  a  single  day,  and  started  the  next  afternoon 
in  a  race  which  he  won.  However  this  may  be,  it  is 
certain  that  for  many  years  Henry  Clay  belonged  to 
an  owner  who  cruelly  abused  him.  It  seems  to  be 
the  natural  amusement  of  a  drunken  man  to  ill-treat 


38  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

a  horse,  and  Henry  Clay  was  one  of  that  innumerable 
company  of  dumb  beasts  whose  fate  it  has  been  to 
supply  this  kind  of  entertainment  for  the  superior 
animal.     When  his  "  peculiar  turns  were  upon  him," 

writes  one  who  knew  both  horse   and  man,  "W 

always  wanted  to  drive  Henry  Clay.  At  such  times 
the  city  of  Rochester,  which  is  twenty-eight  miles 
by  road  from  G-eneseo,  was  the  objective  point. 
When  ready  to  return,  after  an  experience  that  tries 
men's  nerves,  he  would  get  into  the  wagon,  take  out 
his  whip,  and,  giving  it  a  wide  swing,  exclaim,  '  One 
hour  and  a  half  into  my  barn,'  —  which  the  horse 
had  to  do.  Sometimes  his  carriage  would  break  down. 
The  President  of  the  Livingston  Agricultural  Society, 
the  late  M.   L.  Cummings,    wishing  at    one    time  to 

see    W on  some   important    matters,   waited   for 

him  in  his  barn,  and  W finally  drove  in  hang- 
ing to  the  dashboard,  the  hind  axle  dragging,  both 
hind  wheels  gone.  The  horse  was  dripping  wet,  and 
panting  so  that  Mr.  Cummings  (a  first-class  horse- 
man) thought  that  he  would  never  recover  his  wind. 
W took  out  his  watch,  looked  at  it,  and  ex- 
claimed, '  He  did  it,  or  I  would  shoot  him.  One  hour 
and  a  half,  twenty-eight  miles  ! '  " 

On   another    occasion    W struck    Henry   Clay 

with  a  club,  breaking  one  of  his  ribs,  and  the  injury 
left  its  mark  on  the  skeleton  of  the  horse,  which 
is  still  preserved  in  the  National  Museum  at  Wash- 
ington. 

The  Orloff  trotters  of  Russia  were  bred  in  much 
the  same  way  as  the  Cla}^s,  and  there  is  a  resemblance 
between  the  two  families.  Some  vears  asro  there  was 
an  exhibition  of  Orloff  trotters  at  a  State  fair  held  in 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  39 

Central  New  York,  neai  the  former  home  of  Henry 
Clay,  and  many  farmers  who  saw  the  Russiau  horses 
there  protested  at  what  they  considered  an  imposition. 
"  These  are  not  foreign  horses,  they  are  nothing  but 
Clays,"  was  their  criticism. 

For  many  years,  while  the  Hambletonian  star  was 
rising,  the  Clay  family  were  undervalued  and  mis- 
re]  >resented ;  but  finally,  when  it  became  apparent 
that  the  most  successful  Hambletonian  sires,  George 
Wilkes  and  Electioneer,  were  out  of  Clay  mares,  and 
that  in  many  other  cases  Clay  blood  had  helped  to 
produce  extreme  speed,  this  prejudice  was  dissipated. 
It  seems  to  be  true,  however,  that  there  is  a  slight 
tendency  in  the  family  to  sulk  at  critical  moments. 
"It  was  undoubtedly,"  says  Mr.  H.  T.  Helm,1  "a 
mental  quality,  which,  when  they  were  collared  by  an 
antagonist,  and  likely  to  be  forced  to  the  utmost,  caused 
them  to  sulk  and  refuse  to  do  their  best."  And  Mr. 
Helm  adds  that  Boston,  the  famous  four-mile  racer, 
and  Harry  Bassett,  his  grandson,  both  exhibited  the 
same  trait. 

I  have  stated  already  the  maternal  lines  coming 
from  Clay  stock  in  which  chiefly  distinction  has  been 
won.  There  is  also  an  important  California  family 
descended  from  the  Clays  in  the  paternal  line.  This 
is  the  family  founded  by  The  Moor,  among  whose 
descendants  are  Sultan,  and  the  son  of  Sultan,  Stam- 
boul,  whose  record  is  2.11.  These  California  Clavs 
are  very  beautiful  horses,  having  almost  the  finish 
and  quality  of  thoroughbreds.2 

1  "American    Roadsters   and   Trotting    Horses."      A   valuable 
work,  of  which  I  shall  make  frequent  nse. 

2  The  breeding  of  this  family  is  as  follows  :  Henry  Clay  sired 


40  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  Hambletonians, 
the  Mambrino  Chiefs,  and  the  Clays  all  have  a  hall- 
mark, so  to  say,  of  their  own,  not  found  of  course  in 
every  individual  belonging  to  their  blood,  but  still 
extremely  common.  In  the  Hambletonian  family  this 
is  a  white  hind  foot,  mottled  with  black;  in  the 
Mambrino  Chief  family,  especially  in  the  Mambrino 
Patchen  branch,  it  is  one  hind  leg  gray  from  foot  to 
hock ;  in  the  Clays,  it  is  a  few  gray  hairs  at  the  root 
of  the  tail. 

Having  now  indicated  in  a  general  Avay  three  of 
the  main  sources  of  trotting  speed,  —  namely,  the 
Messenger  strain  as  exhibited  especially  in  the  Ham- 
bletonian and  Mambrino  Chief  families,  the  Bell- 
founder  or  Norfolk  Trotter  strain  as  represented  in 
the  Hambletonian  family,  and  the  Grand  Bashaw  or 
Barb  strain  preserved  in  the  Clays,  —  I  come  to  the 
fourth  main  source  of  trotting  speed,  namely,  the 
Morgans,  a  New  England  breed. 

In  the  troubled  year  1788,  one  Colonel  De  Lancey, 
a  King's  officer,  and  a  patron  of  horse  racing,  was  in 
command  of  a  regiment  stationed  at  a  point  on  Long 
Island  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  long  bridge. 
As  his  private  charger,  the  Colonel  had  a  very  hand- 
some bay  stallion,  a  thoroughbred,  called  True  Briton,1 
and  afterward  Beautiful  Bay. 

Cassius  M.  Clay  out  of  a  well-bred  but  untraced  mare.  Cassias  M. 
Clay  sired  Clay  Pilot  out  of  a  mare  by  Pacing  Pilot  (a  Canadian 
horse  of  unknown  pedigree),  second  dam  by  Gray  Eagle,  an  in- 
bred Diomed.  Clay  Pilot  sired  The  Moor  out  of  Belle  of  Wabash, 
a  very  blood-like  animal,  a  thoroughbred,  or  nearly  thoroughbred, 
granddaughter  of  imported  Fylde. 

1  True  Briton  was  by  Lloyd's  Traveller,  by  Imported  Traveller. 
Imported  (or  Moretou's)   Traveller  was  bred  by  Mr.  Crofts.     He 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  41 

Some  nameless  person,  perhaps  a  patriot  ambitious 
to  despoil  the  enemy,  or,  as  is  more  likely,  a  miscreant 
bent  upon  plunder,  stole  tins  True  Briton,  and  ran 
him  across  the  bridge  to  Connecticut,  and  thereupon 
he  became  an  American  possession,  and  was  kept  at 
East  Hartford.  This  horse  was  the  sire  of  the  bay 
colt  afterward  known  as  Justin  Morgan.  The  dam 
of  Justin  Morgan  is  represented  to  have  been  of  the 
Wildair  breed.  Wildair,  a  horse  of  the  very  first 
quality,  was  imported  from  England,  and  afterward 
repurchased  at  a  high  price  and  returned  to  that 
country.  According  to 'other  accounts,  Justin  Mor- 
gan's dam  was  descended  from  the  Lindsey  Arabian, 
a  noted  animal  kept  first  in  Connecticut  and  after- 
ward   in   Maryland.1     At   all  events,   it  is   probable 

was  sired  by  Partner,  grandson  of  the  Byerly  Turk,  and  grandsire 
of  King  Herod.  The  dam  of  Traveller  was  by  Bloody  Buttocks, 
the  Arabian.  The  dam  of  Lloyd's  Traveller  was  by  a  son  of  Old 
Fox,  out  of  Miss  Belvoir. 

1  The  story  of  this  horse  is  a  romantic  one.  In  return  for  some 
very  important  service,  he  was  presented  by  the  Emperor  of  Mo- 
rocco to  the  captain  of  a  British  frigate,  who  took  him  on  board 
and  set  sail  for  home.  Being  obliged  to  call  at  one  of  the  West 
India  islands,  the  captain  put  the  horse  ashore  in  order  that  he 
might  exercise  himself  in  a  large  enclosed  yard  near  the  sea. 
Unfortunately  there  was  a  pile  of  lumber  in  this  yard  upon  which 
the  horse  climbed,  and,  the  lumber  slipping,  he  fell  and  broke  three 
of  his  legs.  In  the  harbor  at  the  time  there  happened  to  be  also  an 
American  ship  commanded  by  an  acquaintance  of  the  British  officer, 
and,  as  this  vessel  was  intending  to  remain  there  for  some  weeks, 
the  horse  was  given  to  the  American  captain,  who  brought  him  on 
board,  put  him  in  a  sling,  and  succeeded  in  setting  his  broken  legs. 
The  animal  finally  arrived  in  the  United  States  in  good  condition, 
and  was  sent  to  Connecticut,  where  he  soon  made  a  reputation. 
He  was  now  called  Ranger.  During  the  Revolutionary  War  some 
Virginia  officers,  including  General  Harry  Lee,  were  struck  by  the 
great   excellence  of  certain  horses  ridden   by  soldiers  from  Con- 


42  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

that  she  was  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  well  bred  as 
True  Briton,  for  so  remarkable  an  animal  as  Justin 
Morgan  could  hardly  have  been  a  mongrel. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  at  the  time  when 
Justin  Morgan  was  foaled  the  typical  thoroughbred 
was  very  unlike  the  thoroughbred  of  the  present  day. 
He  was  close  to  the  Arab  foundation,  and  conse 
quently  he  was  a  shorter-legged,  rounder  built,  more 
compact  animal  than  the  race  horse  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Such  was  the  famous  and  beautiful  Gini- 
crack,1  foaled  in  1760.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that  Justin  Morgan,  though  well-bred,  was  a  chunky 
little  horse,  with  short  legs  and  round  quarters.  He 
had  a  line  mane  and  tail,  a  short,  powerful  back,  a 
longish  body,  strong,  oblique  shoulders,  a  delicate 
ear,  a  noble  head,  and  the  most  intelligent,  expressive, 
and  courageous  eyes  that  the  spirit  of  a  Houyhnhnm 
ever  looked  out  of.  He  stood  fourteen  hands  only, 
and  weighed  about  nine  hundred  pounds.  He  was 
foaled  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  in  1793,  and  as 
a  two-year-old  he  was  taken  in  part  payment  of  a  debt 
by  a  school-teacher  named  Justin  Morgan,  who  brought 
him  to  Randolph,  Vermont.  The  horse  died  in  1821, 
near  Chelsea,  Vermont. 

necticut.  On  inquiry,  they  learned  that  these  horses  were  sons 
of  Ranger.  There  were  sixty  of  them,  all  grays,  in  a  troop  com- 
manded by  Captain  Tallmadge,  who  is  said  to  have  lamented  the 
loss  of  one  of  them  more  bitterly  than  he  did  the  death  of  a  trooper. 
The  Virginia  gentlemen  made  up  a  purse,  and  sent  one  Captain 
Lindsey  to  inspect  Ranger,  and,  if  the  horse  answered  the  account 
that  had  been  given  to  them,  to  purchase  him  if  possible.  Captain 
Lindsey  accordingly  bought  Ranger  and  took  him  to  Virginia,  where 
he  was  known  as  Lindsey's  Arabian.  He  was  a  gray,  high-spirited, 
of  a  proud  and  commanding  appearance. 

1  Gimcrack  was  by  Cripple,  by  the    Godolphin   Arabian.     He 
stood  onlv  14.1  hands. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  43 

Justin  Morgan  was  no  trotter,  and  not  till  the  third 
or  fourth  generation  did  a  trotter  arise  in  his  family 
but  he  was  distinguished  in  three  ways,  as  a  draught 
horse,  as  a  short-distance  runner,  and  as  a  military 
charger  or  parade  horse.  In  his  day  there  were  no 
race-courses  and  no  stated  races  in  Vermont ;  but  when 
the  sporting  element  gathered  at  a  tavern  on  a  spring 
or  summer  evening,  they  were  wont  to  amuse  them- 
selves by  running  their  horses  on  the  level  road  in 
front  of  the  tavern,  the  prize  being  a  gallon  of  rum, 
and  in  these  races  Justin  Morgan  is  said  never  to  have 
been  beaten.  On  the  same  occasions  a  contest  would 
often  be  had  in  pulling  logs  ;  and  when  the  other  horses 
concerned  had  done  their  best,  it  was  the  custom  of 
Justin  Morgans  owner  to  hitch  him  to  the  heaviest 
log  that  had  been  stirred,  then  to  jump  on  himself, 
and  the  little  horse  never  failed  to  move  the  load. 
When  ridden  at  a  muster,  his  proud  carriage  made 
him  the  cynosure  of  all  e}Tes ;  and  he  was  so  intelli- 
gent and  tractable  that  women  could  ride  him.  In 
fine,  Justin  Morgan  was  an  animal  of  extraordinary 
utility  and  style.  To  an  extraordinary  extent,  also, 
he  stamped  his  image  and  impressed  his  qualities  upon 
his  descendants. 

Unfortunate  indeed  is  the  American  in  whose  ears 
those  magic  words,  "  Morgan  horse/*'  awake  no  recol- 
lection, or  not  even  a  thrill  of  sympathetic  interest. 
For  nearly  a  century  the  Morgans  have  served  the 
farmer,  the  stable-keeper,  the  minister,  the  country 
doctor,  the  mounted  militiaman,  and  all  other  people 
who  desired  to  travel  quickly  or  to  be  carried  hand- 
somely. "Wonderful  truly  ("and  perhaps  at  times  a 
little   apocryphal)  are  the  stories  of  Morgan  intelli- 


44:  ROAD,  TRACK.  AND  STABLE. 

gence,  of  Morgan  speed,  and  of  Morgan  endurance, 
that  are  told  by  the  dim  light  of  a  lantern  in  many 
a  country  livery  stable  in  Northern  New  England. 
I  remember —  But  at  present  we  are  concerned  with 
the  Morgan  merely  as  a  trotter,  and  so  I  reserve 
ray  stories  of  Morgan  roadsters  for  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

Justin  Morgan's  finest  son  was  Sherman,  whose  dam 
was  a  small  but  highly  bred  chestnut  mare.  Sherman 
himself,  a  bright  chestnut  in  color,  stood  no  taller  than 
a  pony,  for  he  measured  only  13|  hands.  He  weighed, 
however,  925  pounds.  Sherman  was  the  sire  of  Ver- 
mont Black  Hawk,  and  Vermont  Black  Hawk  founded 
a  trotting  family.  His  dam  was  a  half-bred  "Eng- 
lish "  mare  from  Xew  Brunswick.  She  stood  sixteen 
hands  high,  and  weighed  about  eleven  hundred  pounds. 
Vermont  Black  Hawk  was  foaled  in  1833 ;  he  was  a 
little  under  fifteen  hands,  and  jet-black  in  color.  This 
horse,  besides  being  a  trotter,  had  every  quality  of  a 
good  roadster ;  he  was  strong,  speedy,  enduring ;  he 
had  a  lively  but  pleasant  disposition,  and  he  was  re- 
markably handsome.  His  back  was  short,  he  carried 
his  head  high,  and  he  possessed  that  elastic  "  trappy ': 
gait  which  is  the  true  roadster  way  of  going. 

His  most  distinguished  son  was  Ethan  Allen,  a  very 
beautiful  little  bay  horse,  whose  dam  was  a  highly 
bred  gray1  mare,  said  to  be  of  Messenger  descent. 
Ethan  Allen's  trotting  action  was  wonderfully  smooth 
and   pure.     He   has   a   record   of  2.15  '2  with  running 


1  Both  the  black  color  of  his  sire  and  the  gray  color  of  his  dam 
are  very  infrequent  in  the  descendants  of  Ethan  Allen.  They  are 
commonly  hays  or  chestnuts. 

2  H.  B.  Winship,  a  descendant  of  Ethan  Allen,  has  since  trotted 


a  mile  in  2.06  with  running  mate. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  45 

mate,  and  he  was,  1  believe,  the  first  horse  to  be  driven 
in  that  somewhat  ridiculous  fashion.  The  manner  is, 
to  provide  strong  breeching  covered  with  sheepskin, 

and  to  make  the  traces  of  the  runner  shorter  than 
those  of  his  mate.  The  runner  thus  pulls  the  trotter 
along,  very  much  as  a  boy  is  pulled  by  a  wagon  when 
he  "  ruts  behind."  and  hangs  on  to  the  tail-board. 

Ethan  Allen's  record  in  single  harness  is  2.2o\. 
This  discrepancy  of  lO*  seconds  between  his  record 
with  and  his  record  without  a  running  mate  is  greater 
than  it  should  be,  and  is  probably  due  chiefly  to  the 
fact  that  his  hind  legs  were  faulty,  his  hocks  being- 
somewhat  weak,  and  his  pastern  joints  too  long  and 
delicate,  so  that  he  could  not  maintain  his  speed  except 
for  a  short  distance.  These  defects  he  inherited  from 
his  dam.  One  who  knew  the  horse  well  wrote  of  him  : 
"  He  works  with  the  least  possible  waste  of  motion. 
His  stride  is  as  precise  as  the  stroke  of  a  pendulum, 
and  so  true  does  he  carry  his  body,  so  graceful  his 
head  and  neck,  and  so  animated  his  carriage,  that  he 
seems  to  "light  up'  all  over,  and  presents  a  most  per- 
fect, sylph-like  form  of  elegance." 

The  best  son  of  Ethan  Allen  was  Daniel  Lambert, 
who  became  the  most  distinguished  progenitor  of  trot- 
ters that  has  appeared  in  the  Morgan  family.  His 
dam  was  Fanny  Cook,  a  chestnut,  and  a  daughter  of 
Abdallah,  son  of  Messenger  and  sire  of  Rysdyck's 
Hambletonian.  Thus  in  Daniel  Lambert  the  Messen- 
ger and  Morgan  strains  were  united,  and  this  combina- 
tion has  since  produced  many  fast  trotters.1  In  Daniel 
Lambert  disappeared  the  faulty  conformation  that 
Ethan  Allen  inherited  from  his  dam,  and  he  was  not 

1  Notably  Jack,  2.12J,  and  Pamlico,  2.16|. 


46  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

inferior  in  beauty  to  his  sire  or  grandsire.  He  was  a 
chestnut,  with  mane  and  tail  some  shades  lighter,  the 
mane  being  very  silk}',  and  the  tail  long,  wavy,  and 
well  carried.  This  peculiar  coloring  of  two  shades  of 
chestnut  is  still  very  common  in  the  Lambert  family, 
and,  seen  at  its  best,  nothing  could  be  more  striking  or 
picturesque.  The  Lamberts  are  apt  to  be  a  little  hot- 
headed, but  they  are  intelligent,  docile  when  properly 
treated,  very  spirited,  speedy,  and  courageous.  Per- 
haps it  would  be  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  finest 
gentlemen- s  roadsters  bred  in  this  country  have  been 
of  Lambert  stock.  Daniel  Lambert  himself  was  a 
horse  of  commanding  style  and  of  magnificent  carriage. 
For  many  years  he  was  kept  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston, 
but  late  in  life  he  was  brought  back  to  Middlebury. 
Vt.j  where  he  had  been  raised.  On  this  occasion  all 
the  inhabitants  turned  out  with  a  brass  band  to  wel- 
come him  home,  and  there  was  a  procession  through 
the  village  streets.  "  The  old  horse,"  relates  an  eye- 
witness of  the  scene,  "  kept  time  to  the  music,  and  was 
the  proudest  creature  that  ever  walked  on  earth." 

I  have  mentioned  the  pacer  as  one  source  of  trotting 
speed.  Why  he  should  be  such  is  a  problem  much  dis- 
cussed, and  not  yet  solved,  although  an  important  sug- 
gestion on  this  subject  has  been  contributed  by  Hark 
Comstock. 1  He  conjectures  that  the  pacing  gait  is 
apt  to  result  when  thoroughbred  horses  are  first  crossed 
with  ordinary  mares;  and  he  shows  that  pacers  have 
been  common  in  those  parts  of  the  country  where  this 
condition  obtained.  Moreover,  there  is.  I  believe,  no 
case  where  a  very  fast  trotter  has  come  from  pacing 

1  Norn  de  guerre  of  Mr.  Peter  C.  Kellogg,  au  original  and  in- 
structive writer  on  the  trotting  horse. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  47 

stock,  except  when  this  blood  was  qualified  by  that  of 
high-bred  horses.  The  great  Smuggler *  was  of  pacing- 
thoroughbred  descent.  Both  Maud  S.  and  Jay-Eye-See 
are  descended  on  the  maternal  side  from  a  Canadian 
pacer.  Their  grandsire  was  Pilot,  or,  as  he  is  now 
more  commonly  called,  Old  Pacing  Pilot,  —  a  Canadian 
horse  with  all  the  characteristics  of  that  race.  He 
was  coal-black,  with  a  long,  thick,  "  wavy  "  mane  and 
tail,  and  hairy  fetlocks.  He  stood  a  little  under  fifteen 
hands.  His  head  was  plain,  but  not  coarse,  his  neck 
fairly  long ;  he  had  a  sloping  rump,  and  his  hocks  were 
Avell  let  down.  He  was  a  very  muscular,  compactly 
built,  stout,  tough  horse,  full  of  "character,"  and  he 
could  pace  a  mile  in  2.26,  carrying  a  weight  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  pounds  on  his  back.  Pilot  was  a 
typical  Canadian,  descended  probably  from  Xorman 
horses  brought  into  Canada  by  the  French,  and  ren- 
dered smaller,  tougher,  and  longer-haired  by  the 
severe  climate   and  rough  fare. 

By  far  the  best  son  of  Old  Pacing  Pilot  was  Pilot 
Jr.,  a  handsome  gray  horse,  whose  dam  was  Nancy 
Pope,  a  Diomed  mare,  nearly  if  not  quite  thorough- 
bred ;  and  it  was  Pilot  Jr.  who  sired  the  dams  of  both 
Maud  S.  and  Jay-Eye-See. 

There  is  another  trotting  family  descended  from  a 
pacer,  which  is  far  more  numerous  though  somewhat 
less  distinguished  than  the  family  of  Pilot  Jr.  Many 
years  ago  there  wras  in  the  mountainous  part  of  Ohio 
an  extraordinary  looking  horse  owned  by  a  man  named 
Merring.  This  horse  was  dubbed  "Merring's  Blue 
Bull "  by  the  local  wag,  —  "  Blue  "  on  account  of  his 
color  (which  was  that  rare   shade   commonly  known 

1  See  page  100. 


48  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

as  mouse-color),  "Bull "  ou  account  of  his  thick  neck, 
—  and  the  name  Blue  Bull,  thus  given  in  scorn,  be- 
came in  the  third  generation  a  badge  of  honor.  Mer- 
ring's  Blue  Bull  had  a  son  called  Pruden's  Blue  Bull, 
no  less  remarkable  in  appearance  than  his  sire.  He 
was  a  big  horse,  at  least  16^  hands  high,  weighing 
twelve  hundred  pounds,  —  a  mouse-colored  beast  with 
a  white  face,  a  black  stripe  down  his  back,  three  white 
feet,  and  legs  marked  like  those  of  a  zebra. 

A  writer  in  the  American  Horse  Breeder  gives  the 
following  description  of  him  :  "  He  was  a  deep  mouse- 
color,  generally  called  blue,  blazed  face,  glass  eyes, 
heavy  black  mane  and  tail,  black  stripe  down  his  back, 
legs  white  to  the  knees,  and  from  there  up  had  yel- 
low stripes  around  them.  He  Avas  a  powerfully  built, 
heavy-bodied,  close-ribbed  horse,  with  an  enormous 
beefy  neck,  a  natural  pacer,  and  ungainly  in  action. 
Many  of  this  family  were  natural  pacers,  and  but  few 
proved  to  be  good  riding  horses,  on  account  of  their 
awkward  and  stumbling  gait.  They  were,  however,  a 
strong,  tough,  hardy  race  of  horses,  and  served  admi- 
rably for  heavy  teaming  in  this  hilly  country  before 
the  days  of  turnpikes  and  railroads." 

Merring's  Blue  Bull  and  his  son  Pruden's  Blue  Bull 
were,  then,  clumsy  pacing  cart  horses,  and  Wilson's 
Blue  Bull,  son  of  Pruden's  Blue  Bull,  looked  much 
like  his  sire  and  grandsire ;  and  yet  he  is  the  founder 
of  a  trotting  family  almost  if  not  quite  as  numerous 
as  the  Wilkeses  or  the  Electioneers.  Wilson's  Blue 
Bull,  the  only  Blue  Bull  up  to  his  day  who  had  at- 
tained the  slightest  distinction,  was  foaled  in  1844. 
"  His  appearance,"  as  related  by  an  experienced  horse- 
man,   "was  the  most  peculiar  I  ever  saw.      Prom  a 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  49 

side  view  one  would  judge  him  to  be  a  draught  horse, 
but  a  front  or  rear  view  would  dispel  the  illusion.  His 
hind  legs  were  sickle-shaped,  front  knees  sprung  back- 
wards, legs  wide  and  thin,  very  short  from  knees  down, 
great  length  of  arms,  with  muscles  long  and  massive, 
hips  extending  so  far  forward  and  shoulders  so  far 
backward  that  there  was  not  length  enough  of  back 
for  an  ordinary  riding  saddle  to  be  properly  adjusted. 
He  seemed  to  be  made  of  hips  and  shoulders,  but  had 
good  length  of  belly.  His  only  gait  was  a  pace.  I 
have  often  seen  him  pace  with  a  running  horse  beside 
him,  and  for  a  few  hundred  yards  he  would  always 
come  out  ahead." 

He  had  a  sleek,  short  coat,  and  this  and  his  sloping 
shoulders  were  his  only  indications  of  good  breeding. 
As  he  was  the  single  son  of  Pruden's  Blue  Bull,  and 
the  single  grandson  of  Merring's  Blue  Bull,  to  attain 
reputation  as  a  trotting  sire  it  is  fair  to  assume  that 
he  derived  his  good  qualities  in  great  measure  from 
his  dam.  She  was  a  "  sorrel  chestnut,"  about  15.1 
high,  with  good  trotting  action,  considerable  speed, 
and  great  endurance.  On  one  occasion  she  was  ridden 
eighty-seven  miles  in  eleven  hours  by  a  man  who 
weighed  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  Her  sire 
was  Young  Selim,  of  a  family  called  Truxton,1  and 
Young  Selim  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  half-bred. 
Early  in  life  Wilson's  Blue  Bull  lost  an  eye,  and  was 
deformed  by  a  kick  which  broke  one  of  his  fore  legs. 
Thus    his    extraordinary    and   ugly    appearance    was 

1  The  original  Truxton,  a  son  of  Diomed,  was  owned  and 
raced  by  President  Jackson.  General  Stonewall  Jackson's  favorite 
charger  was  a  sorrel  called  Truxton,  probably  a  member  of  the 
same  familv. 


50  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

heightened,  and,  until  a  few  chance  colts  by  him 
beo°an  to  show  great  speed,  he  was  held  in  the  very 
lowest  estimation.1  Moreover,  his  descendants  are 
remarkable  not  only  for  speed,  but  for  beauty  and 
finish,  and  the  term  "Blue  Bull"  now  suggests 
qualities  the  very  opposite  of  those  for  which  it 
was  given.     The  Blue  Bulls,  however,  are  thought  to 

lack  gameness. 

Of  the  six  horses  that  I  mentioned  in  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter  as  being,  in  a  general  way,  the  founda- 
tion stock  of  the  American  trotter,  there  remains  only 
one  to  be  described,  and  that  is  Diomed,  a  thorough- 
bred, and  a  contemporary  of  Messenger.     Messenger 
as  a  sire  of  running  horses  was  a  failure.     Of  all  his 
foals,   only  one,   a  filly  called   Miller's  Damsel,2  at- 
tained distinction  on  the  running  track ;  but  Messen- 
ger, though  running  bred,  had  good  trotting  action,  and 
the  gift  of  imparting  it  to  his  numerous  descendants. 
Thus,  as  we  have  seen,  he  played  a  leading  part  in  the 
development  of  the  trotter. 

The  case  of  Diomed  is  very  different.  He  was  a 
successful  runner  himself,  and  from  him  descend  the 
stanchest,  speediest  runners  that  have  appeared  on 
the  American  turf.  But  he  was  not  a  trotter  nor  a 
sire  of  trotters,  and  his  foals  were  few  in  number,  so 
that  upon  the  general  harness  horses  of  the  country 
the  influence  of  his  blood  was  very  slight.  On  what 
around,  then,  can  he  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  half- 
dozen  foundation  horses  from  which  the  American 
trotter  is  chiefly  derived? 

i  He  began  his  career  precisely  as  did  the  Godolphin  Arabian, 
and  his  value  was  discovered  in  the  same  accidental  manner. 
2  And  her  dam  was  by  a  son  of  Diomed. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  51 

Diomed  owes  this  distinction  to  the  high  quality  of 
a  few  trotters  that  have  descended  from  him  in  the 
maternal  line.  If  the  pedigree  of  all  horses  that  have 
made  2.30  or  better  were  consulted,  Diomed's  name 
would  appear  so  seldom  as  to  make  his  part  in  the 
development  of  the  trotter  seem  very  insignificant. 
But  when  the  pedigrees  of  the  select  few  that  have 
trotted  in  say  2.12  or  better  are  examined,  Diomed's 
name  appears  so  frequently  as  to  suggest  something 
more  than  a  series  of  coincidences. 

Before  stating  a  few  of  these  cases,  I  will  take  a 
brief  glance  at  Diomed's  history.  The  first  "Derby" 
was  run  at  Epsom  on  May  4,  1780,  and  it  wTas  won  by 
a  "compact,  well  formed  chestnut  colt,  the  property 
of  Sir  Charles  Bunbury."  This  was  Diomed.  He 
was  bred  by  the  Hon.  Richard  Vernon,  of  Newmarket, 
and  foaled  in  1777.  Diomed  was  by  Florizel,  by  King 
Herod,  and  his  dam  was  the  famous  Spectator  mare.1 

James  Rice,  who  wrote  a  History  of  the  British  Turf, 
says  :  "  It  has  been  the  fashion  to  underrate  the  Derby 
victory  of  Diomed,  but  the  history  of  his  three-year-old 
career  on  the  turf  shows  that  he  was  a  good  performer, 
and  won  or  received  a  forfeit  in  all  his  engagements, 
proving  himself  thereby  one  of  the  best  three-year-olds 
of  his  time." 

Diomed  was  brought  to  this  country  in  1799,  having 
been  purchased  for  the  small  sum  of  fifty  guineas,  at 
the  age  of  twenty -two,  and  he  died  in  1808,  which  was 
also  the  year  of  Messenger's  death.    He  left,  as  I  have 

1  To  show  the  Oriental  richness  of  his  pedigree,  it  is  sufficient  to 
state  that  he  traces  to  the  Leeds  Arahian  nine  times  ;  to  the  Darley 
Arabian  seven  times;  to  the  Byerly  Turk  five  times;  to  Curwen's 
Bay  Barb  twice ;  to  the  Bald  Galloway  once ;  to  the  Godolphin 
Arabian  twice  ;   to  Flying  Childers  four  times  ;   etc. 


52  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

said,  only  a  few  foals  in  this  country,  -  less  than  a 
hundred ;  but  those  few  appear  conspicuously  in  the 
pedigrees  of  our  fastest  horses,  whether  at  the  running, 
the  trotting,  or  the  pacing  gait. 

The  best  son  of  Diomed  was  Sir  Arcby,  foaled  on 
the  banks  of  the  James  River,  in  Virginia,  in  the  year 
1805  »    Sir  Archy  was  a  thoroughbred  of  the  very  first 
breeding,  the  speediest,  gamest  race-horse  of  Ins  day, 
and  his  descendants  have  not  been  unworthy  of  their 
origin.     Sir  Archy  was  of  a  rich  bay  color  with  one 
white  hind  foot,  and  lie  is  thus  described  by  Frank 
Forester  •    "  He  was  a  horse  of  commanding  appear- 
ance, standing  fully  sixteen  hands  in  height,  possess- 
ing great  power  and  substance.     He  was  eminently 
superior  in  all  those  points  indispensable  to  the  tort 
horse  and  mainly  contributory  to  strength  and  action. 
His  shoulder,  one  of  the  most  material  parts  of  the 
horse,  was  strikingly  distinguished,  being  very  deep, 
fairly  mounting  to  the  top  of  the  withers    and  ob- 
liquely inclined  to  the  hips.     His  girth  was  full  and 
deep,  back  short  and  strong,  thighs  and  arms  long  and 
muscular,  and  bone  of  excellent  quality.     His  front 
appearance  was  fine  and  commanding,  Ins  head  and 
neck  being  beautifully  formed,  the  latter  rising  well 
out  of  his  withers.     Take  Sir  Archy  as  a  whole,  and 
he  had  more  size,  power,  and  substance  than  are  often 
seen  combined  in  the  full-bred  horse.' 

Sir  Archy  beat  all  the  best  horses  of  Ins  day  in  this 
1  Hi,  dam  »«  the  imported  mare  Cas.iamra  by  RockingW 

Purity,  by  Matchem,  another  member  of  the  great  ] 

cated,  out  of  the  famous  mare  known  as  Squirt. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  53 

country,  and  his  owner  challenged  the  world  at  four- 
mile  heats.  Boston,  a  grandson  of  Sir  Archy,  started 
in  forty-five  races  and  won  forty,  of  which  thirty  were 
races  of  four-mile  heats.  Lexington,  son  of  Boston, 
was  also  a  noted  long-distance  runner.  Both  Boston 
and  Lexington  were  inbred  to  Diomed. 

When  we  turn  to  the  very  fastest  trotters  and  pacers, 
we  rind,  as  I  have  stated,  that  the  blood  of  Diomed, 
chiefly  through  his  son  Sir  Archy,  figures  not  very 
remotely  in  their  pedigrees.  Thus,  Miss  Russell,  dam 
of  Maud  S.  and  of  Nutwood,1  was  out  of  Sally  Russell, 
a  daughter  of  Boston,  and  the  dam  of  Miss  Russell's 
sire,  Pilot  Jr.,  was  by  Havoc,  by  Sir  Charles,  a  grand- 
son of  Diomed.  The  grandam  of  Jay-Eye-See  was  by 
Lexington. 

The  dam  of  the  wonderful  Arion,  whose  two-year- 
old  record  is  2.10|,  was  by  Nutwood,  just  mentioned. 
In  the  pedigree  of  Direct,  the  pacer  who  holds  the 
fastest  record,  of  Allerton,  of  Nancy  Hanks,  and  of 
others  scarcely  inferior,  will  be  found  a  double,  and 
sometimes  a  triple  and  quadruple  cross  of  Diomed 
blood.  If  it  be  asked  what  essential  quality  these 
horses  may  be  supposed  to  derive  from  Diomed,  the 
answer  would  be  that  it  is  gameness,  endurance,  or 
"nerve  force."  Speaking  generally,  Messenger  con- 
tributed the  action,  and  Diomed  contributed  the  inward 
spirit,  both  of  which  are  necessary  to  bring  a  trotter 
to  the  wire  in  superlatively  fast  time. 

Other  thoroughbreds  that  figure  largely  in  trotting 
pedigrees  are  Trustee,  Glencoe,  and  Margrave ;  and  it 
is  a  notable  fact  that  all  these  names,  as  well  as  the 

1  His  record  is  2. 18 \,  and  no  less  than  seventy-five  of  his  sons 
and  daughters,  including  pacers,  are  in  the  2.30  list. 


54  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


5      ^"^^"5 


name  of  Diomed,  appear  in  the  pedigree  of  Dame 
Winnie,1  the  thoroughbred  dam  of  Palo  Alto,  the 
fastest  trotting  stallion  yet  produced. 

A  controversy  has  raged  bitterly  among  fanciers  of 
the  trotting  horse,  and  still  rages,  as  to  the  amount 
of  thoroughbred  blood  that  is  desirable  in  a  trotter. 
The  anti-thoroughbred  party  declare  that  "  trotting 
instinct "  is  what  makes  a  trotter  trot,  and  that  every 
thoroughbred  cross  tends  to  weaken  this  "  trotting 
instinct."  The  other  party  maintain  that  superlative 
speed  for  a  mile  or  more,  at  any  gait,  be  it  run,  trot, 
or  pace,  can  be  obtained  only  through  the  courage, 
through  the  bone  and  sinew,  of  the  thoroughbred. 
In  their  view,  the  ideal  pedigree  for  a  trotting  horse 
is  one  which  contains  only  just  enough  cold  blood 
to  furnish  the  requisite  action,  —  that  bending  of 
the  knee  and  long  stroke  of  the  hind  leg  which  are 
not  natural  to  the  thoroughbred.  Electioneer,  for 
example,  had  excellent  trotting  action,  and  trans- 
mitted it  to  his  colts  from  thoroughbred  or  half- 
bred  mares. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  engage  in  the  controversy, 
but  I  cannot  resist  making  two  remarks  that  bear 
upon  it.  First,  then,  beauty,  style,  a  high  spirit,  intel- 
ligence, and  courage ;  these  surely  are  desirable  quali- 
ties in  a  trotter,  —  the  last  named  is  an  indispensable 
quality,  —  and  their  only  source  is  thoroughbred 
or  Arab  blood.     But  secondty,  in  a  degree,  there  is 

1  Dame  Winnie,  a  chestnut,  is  by  Planet,  by  Eevenue,  by  Trus- 
tee. Planet's  dam  was  Nina  by  Boston.  The  dam  of  Dame  Winnie 
was  Liz  Mardis  by  Glencoe.  The  second  dam  of  Dame  Winnie 
was  Fanny  G  by  Margrave.  Her  third  dam  was  Lancess  by  Lance, 
bv  American  Eclipse.  The  fourth  dam  of  Dame  Winnie  was  by 
Aratus,  son  of  Director  by  Sir  Archy. 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  55 

such  a  thing  as  a  trotting  thoroughbred.  That  is, 
when  a  family  of  trotters  has  been  subjected  for  a 
considerable  period  to  race-horse  usage,  it  tends  to 
acquire  race-horse  or  thoroughbred  traits.  Courage, 
a  fine  nervous  organization,  muscle,  and  lung  power 
are  developed  by  the  severe  contests,  the  high  feed- 
ing, the  careful  training,  which  fall  to  the  lot  of  a 
trotter,  and  when  this  process  has  been  continued  for 
some  generations  its  effects  are  marked. 

The  breeding  of  trotters  is  only  beginning  to  be 
a  science.  In  the  early  days,  pedigrees  were  very 
slightly  considered,  and  the  transmission  of  qualities 
was  not  appreciated  or  understood.  Then  came  a 
period  when  the  value  of  pedigree  was  over-esti- 
mated ;  or,  more  correctly,  when  the  value  of  such 
trotting  pedigrees  as  we  had  was  over-estimated.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  trotter  is  not  a  fixed 
type  j  he  is  commonly  of  mixed  descent,  and  therefore 
members  of  the  same  family,  own  orothers  and  sisters, 
for  example,  may  differ  widely  in  capacity.  This  is 
true  of  course,  in  some  degree,  of  thoroughbreds, 
but  it  is  far  less  true  of  them  than  it  is  of  trotters. 
Almost  any  thoroughbred  in  training  can  run  a  mile 
in  1.42  or  1.43,  and  as  the  fastest  will  run  it  in  1.35J 
or  thereabout,  the  difference  between  them  is  not  very 
great.  But  the  fastest  time  for  a  mile  at  the  trotting 
gait  is  2.08§,  and  there  are  many  very  well-bred 
trotters  who  cannot  trot  a  mile  faster  than  three  or 
even  four  minutes.  This  wide  difference  is  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  the  trotter  has  scarcely  emerged 
from  the  mongrel  state,  and  consequently  the  own 
brother  of  a  very  superior  animal  may  "  throw  back," 
either  in  himself  or  in  his  descendants,  to  some  an- 


dQ  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

cestor  of  inferior  quality.  There  is  an  example  of 
this  in  the  family  of  ALaud  S.  Harold,  her  sire,  is 
also  the  sire  of  thirty  other  trotters,  whose  record  is 
2.30  or  better.  Harold  has  a  brother  called  Lakeland 
Abdallah,  far  superior  to  himself  in  size,  in  beauty, 
and  in  apparent  power,  and  yet  as  a  sire  of  trotters 
Lakeland  Abdallah  has  been  an  utter  failure.  He 
has  but  a  single  representative  in  the  2.30  list.  Of 
course  his  opportunities  have  been  less  than  those  of 
Harold,  but  still  they  have  been  considerable. 

However,  by  a  process  of  selection,  these  discrepan- 
cies are  diminishing.  One  by  one,  those  branches  of 
a  trotting  family  in  which  speed  has  not  been  shown 
are  dropped  ;  only  successful  sons  of  successful  sires 
and  grandsires  are  looked  to  for  the  transmission 
of  speed.  The  lines  are  drawn  in,  comparatively 
few  strains  are  cultivated,  and  thus  a  thoroughbred 
trotter  tends  to  be  evolved.  It  is  probable  that  in 
the  near  future  the  breeder  will  be  able  to  predict 
of  a  given  animal,  This  horse  will  trot  in  2.20  ;  and 
doubtless  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  hence  a  much 
higher  rate  of  speed  will  be  insured  by  certain  lines 
of  breeding. 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  horses,  as  a  rule,  take 
their  form  and  gait  from  their  sire,  and  their  dis- 
position and  nervous  system  from  the  dam ;  and  there 
are  many  facts  which  appear  to  support  this  theory. 
Certain  horses,  conspicuous  among  whom  is  Mam- 
brino  Patchen,  have  had  their  reputation  made  chiefly 
by  their  daughters,  and  for  this  reason  they  are  called 
"  Great  Brood  Mare  sires."  Pilot  Jr.  is  another 
noted  member  of  this  class.  On  the  other  hand, 
Rysdyck's    Hambletonian.    and    many   other   famous 


TROTTING    FAMILIES.  57 

horses,  are  distinguished  more  through  their  sons  than 
through  their  daughters.  Now  Mambrino  Patchen 
and  Pilot  Jr.  excelled  in  nervous  energy  which  they 
derived  from  the  thoroughbreds  in  their  ancestry  ; 
whereas  Hambletonian  excelled  in  gait  and  structure, 
and  was  deficient  in  nervous  energy.  Hence  it  would 
seem  to  be  true  that  the  outward  form  is  derived 
chiefly  from  the  sire,  and  the  inward  energy  from  the 
dam,  inasmuch  as  Hambletonian's  sons,  inheriting 
his  superior  structure  and  gait,  surpass  his  daughters  ; 
and  Mambrino  Patchen's  daughters,  inheriting  his 
superior  nervous  .system,  surpass  his  sons.  However, 
these  general  rules  are  subject  to  many  exceptions. 

But  there  is  one  principle  in  relation  to  trotting 
horses  which  is,  I  think,  admitted  on  all  sides.  The 
single  quality  that  the  "  record  breakers "  have  in 
common  is  nervous  energy, — that  mental  or  physical 
trait,  or  that  relation  between  the  mind  and  the  body, 
which  enables  or  compels  the  muscular  system  to 
accomplish  the  utmost  of  which  it  is  capable.  A 
good  shape,  good  lung  power,  good  action,  — these  of 
course  are  indispensable,  and  they  are  found  in  many 
a  trotting-bred  horse  :  but  the  motive  power  which 
lies  back  of  the  mechanism  ultimately  determines 
the  animal's  speed  for  a  mile,  if  not  for  a  quarter; 
and  it  is  chiefly  in  this  power  that  the  record-breakers 
excel  their  contemporaries. 

Now,  if,  as  we  may  safely  assume,  it  is  nervous 
energy  and  courage  that  make  a  horse  trot  superla- 
tively fast,  and  if,  as  may  reasonably  be  conjectured, 
these  qualities  are  derived  chiefly  from  the  maternal 
side,  then  we  shall  believe  that  the  dam  and  grandam 
in  a  pedigree  are  of  more  consequence  than  the  sire 


58  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

and  grandsire.1  And  the  facts  seem  to  bear  out  this 
conclusion.  It  is  extraordinary  how  many  short 
trotting  pedigrees  end  with  "  a  mare  of  unknown 
breeding,  but  a  great  roadster."'  Such,  for  example, 
was  the  dam  of  Alambrino  Chief.  Sometimes,  in- 
deed, the  maternal  ancestor  has  possessed  too  much 
energy  even  for  roadster  purposes.  Green  Mountain 
Maid,  the  dam  of  Electioneer,  was  so  high-strung  that 
her  owner  abandoned  the  attempt  to  break  her  to 
harness.  It  is  said  of  Lady  Duval,  a  Glencoe  mare, 
and  the  mother  of  two  or  three  trotters,  that  "so 
extreme  was  her  nervous  ambition,  unless  she  was 
permitted  to  rush  ahead  as  soon  as  she  reached  the 
level  stretches  of  the  roadway,  she  would  gallop 
sometimes  for  ten  miles  without  cessation,  and 
then,  when  she  finally  concluded  to  behave  herself, 
she  would  settle  down  into  a  long,  low,  level  stride 
that  reminded  one  of  the  daisy-cutting  movement  of 
Lady  Thorne."  Man}-  other  similar  examples  might 
be  cited. 

"  Notice  in  a  field  of  brood  mares,"  remarks  a  keen 
observer,2  "the  one  that  herds,  drives,  and  dominates 
all  the  others,  and  (if  the  remaining  qualities  of  ac- 
tion, blood,  and  soundness  are  equal)  you  can  always 
select  her  ladyship  as  the  most  successful  brood  mare 
in  the  paddock." 

The  truth  seems  to  be  that  great  trotters,  like  great 
men,  inherit  from  their  mothers  what  has  aptly  been 
termed  the  subtle  ambition  to  succeed. 

1  Such  is  the  opinion  of  the  oldest  horse  breeders  in  the  world,  — 
the  Arabs.  With  them  a  horse  is  always  considered  as  belonging 
to  the  family  of  his  dam,  not  to  that  of  his  sire. 

2  Mr.  S.  T.  Harris. 


III. 


TROTTING   HORSES. 


THE  trotting  horse  plays  an  important  part  in  the 
daily  life  of  the  whole  community,  being  con- 
cerned, as  Dr.  Holmes  has  pointed  out,  even  in  the 
early  conveyance  of  milk-cans  and  in  the  prompt 
delivery  of  fresh  rolls.  These  humble  offices  have 
actually  been  performed  by  horses  who  afterward 
acquired  fame  upon  the  track.  Several  years  ago  an 
old  Dutchman,  living  in  Western  New  York  and  en- 
gaged in  the  milk  business,  was  astonished  and  not  a 
little  frightened  by  the  pace  which  his  beast  set  up 
one  frosty  morning.  -The  cart  was  bounced  over  the 
pavements  of  the  city  where  his  route  lay,  the  cans 
hopped  and  rattled  in  their  seats,  and  the  driver  lost 
his  breath.     But  he  had  no  sooner  recovered  it  than 


60  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

he  began  to  boast  of  the  wonderful  speed  at  which 
the  horse  had  carried  him,  and  thereafter  the  animal 
was  taken  out,  harnessed  to  a  buggy,  on  Saturday 
afternoons  and  like  occasions,  for  a  brush  on  the 
road  with  the  fast  trotters  of  the  neighborhood,  all 
of  whom  he  outstripped.  Within  a  few  weeks  the 
Dutchman's  son,  who  had  been  brought  up  in  this 
country,  procured  an  old  sulky,  and  put  the  milk- 
wagon  steed  in  some  sort  of  training.  In  two 
months'  time  they  appeared  at  a  track,  engaged  in  a 
race  with  veteran  drivers  and  horses  of  established 
reputation,  and  beat  them  all  in  three  straight  heats, 
—  a  wonderful  achievement  for  a  green  trotter  and 
jockey,  and  an  immense  surprise  to  the  professional 
persons  who  had  jeered  at  the  uncouth  appearance 
of  the  newcomers. 

This  case  bears  out  Dr.  Holmes's  illustration  of 
the  milk-cart ;  nor  is  the  other  example  that  he  sug- 
gests without  foundation  in  fact.  Some  years  ago,  a 
baker's  mare  in  Boston,  after  delivering  her  rolls  and 
brown  bread  in  the  city  one  day  as  usual,  was  driven 
to  Saugus,  a  distance  of  about  eight  miles,  and  started 
in  a  match  race  at  the  track  there.  In  the  exuber- 
ance of  her  spirits  she  ran  away  in  the  first  heat, 
and  went  around  the  course  once  or  twice  before  she 
could  be  stopped.  But  being  allowed  to  start  again, 
notwithstanding  this  irregularity,  she  won  the  race, 
and  finished  her  day's  work  by  bringing  the  baker 
back  to  Boston,  and  beating  all  the  horses  that  en- 
gaged with  her  on  the  road  home. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  these  ani- 
mals were  entirely  of  plebeian  origin.  The  milk- 
man's   horse    had    a   dash    of    thoroughbred    in    his 


TROTTING    HORSES.  61 

composition,  and  the  baker's  mare  belonged  to  the 
incomparable  Morgan  strain.  Indeed,  it  never  hap- 
pens that  a  horse  who  is  not  connected  more  or  less 
closely  with  the  equine  aristocracy  becomes  distin- 
guished as  a  trotter.  There  is  a  popular  superstition 
that  Flora  Temple,  Dexter,  and  other  celebrated 
animals,  were  of  obscure  birth,  and  began  life  in 
humble  situations ;  but  this,  as  I  shall  presently 
show,  is  not  the  case.  Dutchman,1  to  be  sure,  an 
old-time  trotter  of  great  courage  and  bottom,  was 
first  used  in  a  string  team  at  Philadelphia  to  haul 
brick ;  but  he  was  a  horse  of  good  breeding.  He 
was  a  bay  gelding,  fifteen  hands  three  inches  high, 
very  powerfully  made,  bony  and  strong,  with  a  plain 
but  resolute  face,  and  a  fine  neck  and  head.  Dutch- 
man's time  for  three  miles,  namely,  7.41,  remained 
the  best  on  record  from  the  year  when  it  was  made, 
1839,  till  1872,  when  Huntress,2  a  beautiful  bay  mare, 
reduced  it  to  7.21  J. 

There  is  another  reason  why  every  American  ought 
to  take  an  interest  in  the  trotter.  Trotting,  like 
base-ball,  is,  as  its  votaries  often  remark,  a  national 
sport,  —  national  in  the  sense  not  only  that  it  is 
popular  among  us,  but  that  it  was  created  by  us  ;  and 
consequently  anybody  in  the  United  States  who  fails 
to  take  an  interest  in  it  is  so  far  forth  out  of  touch 
with  his  countrymen.  There  is  something  lacking  in 
him,  —  some  obscure  though  doubtless  valuable  trait, 
which,  if  he  possessed  it,  would  certainly  make  him 
interesting  in  other  directions,  but  which  is  most 
conspicuously  revealed  in  a  fondness  for  the  track. 

1  Dutchman  was  by  a  grandson  of  Messenger ;  and  his  dam  is 
said  to  have  been  bv  a  son  of  Messenger. 

2  By  Volunteer.     Her  dam  was  a  Star  mare.     See  page  69. 


62  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

Running  horses  furnish,  a  spirited  and  beautiful  sport, 
but  the  runner  can  never  be  domesticated ;  whereas 
any  man  who  owns  a  single  horse  may  find  himself 
in  the  possession  of  a  trotter,  or  at  least  of  an  animal 
which  he  considers  to  be  such,  —  and  this  comes  to 
nearly  the  same  thing.  The  very  beast  who  drags 
a  family  carryall  may,  like  the  milkman's  or  the 
baker's  nag,  prove  worthy  of  a  better  fate.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  few  horses  trot  fast  naturally. 
They  require  skilful  driving  and  training ;  often,  also, 
the  judicious  application  of  weights,  boots,  rollers, 
and  the  like,  in  order  to  lengthen  their  stride  or  to 
correct  other  imperfections  in  their  gait.  It  is  pos- 
sible, therefore,  for  a  horse  to  have  "  the  making  of 
a  trotter  in  him"  during  an  indefinite  period;  and 
so  long  as  the  owner  refrains  from  putting  his  in- 
choate racer  to  the  test,  his  opportunity  for  boasting 
about  the  animal's  latent  speed  is  almost  unlimited. 
Scoffers  may  throw  cold  water  upon  his  pretensions, 
but  no  man  can  assert  absolutely  that  he  is  wrung. 

What,  then,  does  a  trotter  look  like  ?  That  is  a 
question  very  hard  to  answer.  Trotting  horses  range 
in  size  and  shape  from  Great  Eastern,  —  a  big,  long- 
legged  horse,  standing  seventeen  hands,  who  holds 
the  best  saddle  record,  namely,  2.15f ,  —  to  Little 
Dot,  a  pony  of  Morgan  extraction,  weighing  six  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  pounds,  who  was  raised  in  Xew 
Brunswick  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  grew  up  with 
a  flock  of  sheep,  was  knocked  about  by  a  drunken 
sailor,  and  finally,  coming  into  the  hands  of  a  horse- 
man,  made  a  record  of  2.26J.  Nevertheless,  there 
are  two  or  three  trotting  types.  Frank  Forester  re- 
marked that  American  trotting  horses  reminded  him 


TROTTING    HORSES.  63 

strongly  of  Irish  hunters ;  and  this  is  not  strange, 
for,  as  a  rule,  the  best  American  trotters,  like 
Irish  hunters,  are  partly  thoroughbred.  The  Duke 
of  Marlborough  has  made  recently  a  similar  state- 
ment. "The  type,"  he  says,  "is  something  of  the 
class  of  the  English  hunter  with  a  shorter  head,  and 
not  quite  such  good  shoulders."  Palo  Alto,  Stamboul, 
and  Xelson  x  are  examples  of  this  type,  except  that 
their  heads  are  not  short.  Allerton  and  Axtell  are 
more  stockily  built,  and  show  less  quality ;  Arion, 
again,  is  much  smaller  and  somewhat  finer  than 
they.  These  are  the  fastest  six  stallions  now  on 
the  track.  They  all,  with  the  exception  of  Arion, 
stand  higher  at  the  withers  than  at  the  rump. 

A  more  common  type,  perhaps,  is  that  exemplified 
in  the  three  mares  holding  the  fastest  records,  namely, 
Sunol,  Maud  S.,  and  Nancy  Hanks.2  These  are  on 
the  racing  machine  order ;  they  are  somewhat  narrow- 
chested  ;  their  necks  are  straight ;  they  stand  higher 
at  the  rump  than  at  the  withers.  Sunol  is  a  large 
mare,  sixteen  hands  high.  Maud  S.  and  Nancy  Hanks 
are  smaller.  The  trotter  of  the  present  day  is  repre- 
sented best  perhaps  by  these  last  two  mares ;  but  it 
is  probable  that  the  trotter  of  the  future  will  more 
nearly  resemble  Palo  Alto  and  Stamboul. 

When  it  comes  to  details  of  form,  the  difficulty 
of  fixing  general  rules  is  even  greater.  If  there  be 
one  invariable  feature  in  a  trotting  horse  it  is  prob- 
ably this  :  great  length  from  hip  to  hock.  Such  was 
Messenger's    conformation,  derived,   it    is   said,   from 

1  Nelson  is  a  beautiful  horse,  of  Hambletonian,  Morgan,  and 
thoroughbred  descent. 

-  Xancv  Hanks,  it  may  be  mentioned,  was  the  maiden  name  of 
Abraham  Lincoln's  mother,  near  whose  birthplace  the  mare  was 
raised. 


64  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

Sampson.  Great  length  from  hip  to  hock  implies  a 
short  cannon  bone  in  the  hind  leg,  and  a  short  cannon 
bone  in  front  is  also  the  badge  of  a  trotter.  Smug- 
gler and  Stamboul  are  the  only  notable  exceptions 
to  this  rule  that  I  recall.  Wide  hips  are  apt  to  be 
found  in  a  trotting  horse :  this  is  especially  true  of 
the  Clay  family.  Rysdyck's  Hambletonian  had  a 
round  rump,  but  a  sloping  rump  is  more  common  in 
the  trotter  ;  an  excessively  sloping  rump,  however,  is 
the  peculiar  mark  of  a  pacer.  Very  oblique  shoulders, 
running  far  back,  such  as  belong  to  the  saddle  horse 
and  hunter,  seldom  occur  in  a  fast  trotter  ;  and  I  be- 
lieve that  this  remark  would  be  almost  equally  true 
of  running  horses.  Many  trotters,  as  we  have  seen, 
are  disfigured  by  tails  set  on  low  ;  and  this  again 
is  a  common  feature  in  running  horses.  In  fact, 
shoulders  inclined  to  be  straight,  and  drooping  tails, 
are  thought  by  some  writers  to  have  a  close  connec- 
tion with  excessive  speed  at  any  gait.  A  long  body 
combined  with  a  rather  short  back  furnishes  another 
indication  of  trotting  capacity;  and  this  was  the 
shape  of  Flora  Temple,  the  first  horse  to  attain 
national  reputation  as  a  trotter. 

Flora  Temple  reduced  the  record  for  a  mile  from 
2.25|-  to  2.19|.  She  was  well  born,  her  sire  being 
Kentucky  Hunter,  but  in  her  early  youth  she  was 
considered  almost  worthless  on  account  of  her  wild, 
and,  as  everybody  supposed,  ungovernable  temper. 
Flora,  as  they  called  her  at  first,  was  a  rough-coated 
little  bay  mare,  not  over  fourteen  hands  two  inches 
high,  but  possessed  of  a  blood-like  head,  shapely  neck, 
straight  back,  and  fine  legs  with  powerful  muscles. 
Her  birthplace  was   in    the   neighborhood    of   Utica, 


TROTTING    HORSES.  65 

New  York,  where  she  was  sold  at  the  age  of  four 
years  for  the  small  sum  of  $13.  A  few  months  later, 
for  $80,  she  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  drover,  who 
took  her  with  him  on  his  way  to  the  city  of  New 
York.  One  bright  morning  in  June,  1850,  this  drover 
was  passing  through  the  beautiful  village  of  Wash- 
ington Hollow.  He  was  mounted  on  a  fine  gray  stal- 
lion, and  kept  his  cattle  in  line,  while  the  small  bay 
horse  was  tied  to  the  tail-board  of  an  open  wagon 
drawn  by  two  stout  mules  and  driven  by  a  sleepy 
negro.  This  interesting  procession  attracted  the  no- 
tice of  one  Mr.  Jonathan  A.  Vielee,  a  shrewd  horse- 
man, who  happened  to  be  basking  in  the  sun  at  his 
stable  door  on  the  morning  in  question,  and  who,  re- 
marking the  strong  and  gamy  appearance  of  the 
future  Queen  of  the  Turf,  hailed  the  drover,  and 
presently  "  had  the  little  mare  by  the  nose,  and  was 
studying  every  mark  upon  her  teeth.  He  then  "  — 
I  quote  from  Mr.  George  Wilkes's  history  of  Flora 
Temple  —  "  took  hold  of  her  feet ;  and  the  little  mare 
lifted  them  successively  in  his  hand,  with  a  quiet, 
downward  glance  that  seemed  to  say,  'You'll  find 
everything  right  there,  Mr.  Vielee,  and  as  fair  and 
as  firm  as  if  you  wished  me  to  trot  for  a  man's  life ! ' 
And  so  Mr.  Vielee  did :  and  as  he  dropped  the  last 
foot,  he  liked  the  promise  of  the  little  mare  amaz 
ingly,  and  it  struck  him  that  if  he  could  get  her  for 
any  sum  short  of  $250  she  would  be  a  mighty  good 
bargain. 

" '  She  is  about  five  years   old  ?  '   said   Mr.   Vielee, 
inquiringly. 

"'You  have  seen  for  yourself,'  replied  the  drover. 
6CiI  should  judge  she  was  all   right?'   again   sug- 

5 


(36  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

gested  Mr.  Vielee,   partly   walking  round  the  mare, 
and  again  looking  at  her  up  and  down. 

"  '  Sound  as  a  dollar,  and  kind  as  a  kitten/  re- 
sponded the  drover,  as  firmly  as  if  prepared  to  give 
a  written  guaranty. 

"  '  Not  always  so  kind,  neither,'  said  Mr.  Vielee, 
looking  again  steadily  at  the  mare's  face,  '  or  I  don't 
understand  that  deviltry  in  her  eye.  But  that's  nei- 
ther here  nor  there.  You  say  the  mare  is  for  sale. 
Now  let's  know  what  you  will  take  for  her.'  The 
result  was  that  Mr.  Vielee  bought  her  for  $175. 

"  i  And  a  pretty  good  price  at  that,'  said  the  drover 
to  himself  on  pocketing  the  cash,  '  for  an  animal  that 
only  cost  me  eighty,  and  who  is  so  foolish  and  flighty 
that  she  will  never  be  able  to  make  a  square  trot  in 

her  life.'" 

A  few  weeks  later  Mr.  Vielee  took  his  new  pur- 
chase to  New  York,  and  sold  her  to  Mr.  G-.  E.  Perrin 
for  $350.     "In  the  hands  of  Mr.  Perrin,"  relates  the 
graphic   writer   from  whom  I  have  quoted  already, 
"  the  little  bay  mare,  who  had  proved  so  intractable, 
so  nighty,  so  harum-scarum,  and,  to  come  down  to  the 
true  term,  so   worthless  to  her  original  owners,  was 
favored  with  more  advantages  than  ever  she  had  en- 
joyed before.      She  was  not  only  introduced  to  the 
very  best  society  of  fast-goers   on  the  Bloomingdale 
and   Long  Island  roads,  but  she    was   taught,  when 
'flinging  herself  out'  with  exuberant  and  superabun- 
dant spirit  all   over  the  road,  as  it  were,  to  play  her 
limbs  in  a  true  line,  and  give  her  extraordinary  quali- 
ties a  chance  to  show  their  actual  worth.     If  ever  she 
made  a  skip,  a  quick  admonition  and  a  steady  check 
brought  her  to  her  senses  ;   and  when  in  her  frenzy 


TROTTING    HORSES.  67 

of  excitement  at  being  challenged  by  some  tip-top 
goer,  she  would,  to  use  a  sportman's  phrase,  '  travel 
over  herself  and  go  '  up '  into  the  air,  she  was  stead- 
ied and  settled  down  by  a  firm  rein  into  solid  trotting 
and  good  behavior  in  an  instant.  The  crazy,  flighty, 
half-racking,  and  half-trotting  little  bay  mare  became 
a  true  stepper,  and  very  luckily  passed  out  of  her 
confused  '  rip-i-ty  clip-i-ty  '  sort  of  going  into  a  clean, 
even,  long,  low,  locomotive-trotting  stroke.  Many  a 
man  who  came  up  to  a  road  tavern,  after  having  been 
unexpectedly  beaten  by  her,  would  say  to  her  owner, 
as  they  took  a  drink  at  the  bar,  'That's  a  mighty 
nice  little  mare  of  yours,  and  if  she  was  only  big 
enough  to  stand  hard  work,  you  might  expect  a  good 
deal  from  her.' " 

But  Flora  Temple  w^as  big  enough,  as  her  subse- 
quent career  proved.  Little  horses,  in  fact,  usually 
make  the  best  weight-pullers  and  stand  the  most 
work.  Hopeful,  whose  time  to  a  skeleton  wagon  for 
a  mile,  2.16^-,  made  in  1878,  remained  the  best  on 
record  till  1891,1  was  a  small  gray  horse,  and,  like 
almost  all  weight-pullers,  a  very  short  and  quick 
stepper.  "  If  little  horses  of  this  sort  be  particu- 
larly examined,"  says  a  high  authority,  "  it  will  com- 
monly be  found  that,  though  they  are  low,  they  are 
long  in  all  the  moving  parts  ;  and  their  quarters  are 
generally  as  big  and  sometimes  a  deal  bigger  than 
those  of  many  much  larger  horses."  This  remark 
would  apply  to  Arab  coursers,  who,  although  their 
muscles  are  great,  rarely  stand  above  14|  hands  ;  and 

1  In  the  autumn  of  1891,  Allerton  (a  grandson  of  George  Wilkes 
and  of  Mambrino  Patchen)  trotted  a  mile  to  wagon  on  a  kite- 
shaped  track  in  2.15. 


$8  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 


o 


many    thoroughbreds,  conspicuous    for   their    stayin 
powers,  have  had  the  same  general  conformation. 

Flora  Temple  soon  came  into  the  hands  of  Hiram 
Woodruff,  and  under  his  tuition  she  became  a  famous 
race  horse.     She  reduced  the  mile  record,  as  we  have 
seen,  from  2.25£  to  2.19J,  being  equally  good  at  two 
and  three  mile  heats.    There  were  several  contemporary 
trotters,  between  whom  and  Flora  Temple  very  little 
difference  in  speed  existed  when  they  first  encoun- 
tered  her;  but   she  outlasted  the   others.      Some  of 
these  horses  actually  beat  her  once  or  twice ;  but  the 
longer  they  kept  at  it,  the  wider  became  the  distance 
between  them  and  the  little  bay  mare,   of  whom   it 
had  been  said  that  she    might  prove  valuable  if  she 
were  only  big  enough  to  stand  hard  work.     Highland 
Maid,  a  well-bred,  long-stepping  bay  mare;  Tacony, 
the  first   horse   to   make   a  record  of  2.25% ;  Lancet ; 
Ethan  Allen  ;   Pose  of  Washington  ;   Princess,  a  very 
handsome,  high-bred  mare,  who  came  on  from  Cali- 
fornia expressly  to  beat   Flora  Temple  ;  John  Mor- 
gan, a  big,  fine-looking  golden-chestnut  horse  of  good 
breeding,   brought  from  the  WTest  for  the  same  pur- 
pose ;  George  M.  Patch  en,   a  famous   brown  stallion 
of   Morgan  and  Clay  blood, — all  these   horses  and 
many  others  engaged  with  Flora  Temple,  sometimes 
"  turn  and  turn  about,"  but  all  were  badly  beaten  in 
the    end.     "Flora   Temple,"     said   Hiram    Woodruff, 
"would   train  on    and    get   better,   when  thoroughly 
hardened,  towards  the  middle  and  close  of  the  season. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  qualities  that  a  trot- 
ting horse  can  have.     The  greatest  excellence  in  trot- 
ting is  only  to  be  reached  through  much  labor   and 
cultivation.       Xow,   if   strong   work  at  a  few  sharp 


TROTTING    HORSES.  69 

races  overdoes  a  horse  and  knocks  him  off,  it  is  a 
great,  almost  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  his  at- 
taining the  greatest  excellence,  even  in  speed  for  a 
mile." 

After  Flora  Temple  came  Dexter,  a  brown  horse 
with  a  white  face  and  four  white  feet,  by  llysdyck's 
Hambletonian.  He  also  had  remarkable  courage 
and  endurance,  his  dam  being  of  the  American  Star 
family. 

"  Some  of  the  Stars,"  Hiram  Woodruff  said,  "  have 
given  out  in  the  legs  ;  but  their  pluck  is  so  good  that 
they  stand  up  to  the  last,  when  little  better  than 
mere  cripples.  It  is  no  wonder  that  they  have  great 
game  and  courage ;  for  Star's  grandsire  was  the  thor- 
oughbred four-mile r  Henry,  who  ran  for  the  South 
on  the  Island  here  against  the  Northern  horse  Eclipse, 
in  1823.  I  went  to  see  the  race,  being  then  six  years 
old,  and  got  a  licking  for  it  when  I  came  home."  The 
Stars  were  descended  from  Diomed 

Dexter  was  first  sold  at  the  age  of  four,  bringing 

four  hundred  dollars.     He  lowered  the  record  to  2.17^, 

and  doubtless  would  have  reduced  it  still  further  had 

he  not  become  the  property  of  Mr.  Robert  Bonner, 

who  withdrew  him  from  the  turf.     The  excellence  of 

this    horse    probably  gave   the  finishing  blow  to    an 

old  superstition  which  is  embodied    in  the  following 

stanza .  — 

"One  white  foot,  inspect  him  , 
Two  white  feet,  reject  him  , 
Three  white  feet,  sell  him  to  your  foes; 
Four  white  feet,  feed  him  to  the  crows." 

The  first  great  performance  of  Dexter  was  made  in 
October,  1865,  when  he  trotted  under  saddle  against 


70  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

time,  being  matched  to  beat  2.19.  He  was  trained  by 
Woodruff,  but  ridden  in  the  race  by  John  Murphy,  a 
very  skilful  horseman,  and  one  of  the  few  jockeys 
whose  reputation  for  honesty  was  always  absolutely 
unblemished.  In  this  match,  Dexter  trotted  the  first 
half-mile  in  1.06|- ;  but  after  passing  that  point  he 
broke.  "  When  he  broke,"  Hiram  Woodruff  relates, 
"  the  people  cried,  '  He  can't  do  it  this  time  ! '  But  he 
settled  well,  and  when  he  came  on  to  the  home  stretch 
he  had  a  fine  burst  in.  I  was  up  towards  there,  and 
sung  out  to  Johnny,  as  he  came  by  me,  -'Cut  him 
loose  ;  you  '11  do  it  yet ! '  Then  Johnny  clucked  to 
him,  and  he  went  away  like  an  arrow  from  the  bow. 
true  and  straight,  and  with  immense  resolution  and 
power  of  stroke.  I  knew  he  must  do  it  if  he  did  not 
break  before  he  got  to  the  score,  and  up  I  tossed  my 
hat  into  the  air.  I  never  felt  happier  in  all  my  life. 
The  time  given  by  the  judges  was  2  m.  18^  s. ;  the 
outsiders  made  it  somewhat  less." 

Of  the  great  trotters,  Dexter  seems  to  have  been 
the  best  "all-round"  horse,  for  none  of  his  contempo- 
raries was  able  to  beat  him  either  in  one,  two,  or  three 
mile  heats ;  and  he  showed  his  superiority  to  a  wagon 
or  under  saddle  as  well  as  in  harness.  Hiram  Wood- 
ruff anticipated,  but  did  not  live  to  see  his  greatest 
triumphs.  "  It  is  a  long  time  now,"  he  wrote  shortly 
before  his  own  death,  "  since  I  took  Mr.  Foster  to  his 
box,  and,  pointing  out  his  very  remarkable  shape,  — 
the  wicked  head,  the  game-cock  throttle,  the  immense 
depth  over  the  heart,  the  flat,  oblique  shoulder,  laid 
back  clean  under  the  saddle,  the  strong  back,  the 
mighty  haunches,  square  and  as  big  as  those  of  a 
cart-horse,   and  the   good,   wiry   legs,  —  predicted    to 


TROTTING    HORSES.  71 

him  that  here  stood  the  future  Lord  of  the  Trotting 
World." 

Goldsmith  Maid,  who  reduced  the  mark  from  2.17^ 
to  2.14,  had  almost  the  appearance  of  a  thoroughbred. 
She  was  small,  being  15]  hands  high  ;  her  legs  were 
lean,  flat,  and  wiry ;  her  head  and  neck  were  finely 
cut,  and  indicative  of  good  breeding;  she  was  deep 
through  the  lungs,  but  so  slight  in  the  waist  as  to 
suggest  a  lack  of  constitution,  although  she  was  in 
reality  extremely  tough  and  lasting  ;  her  feet  were 
small  and  good.  It  was  said  of  this  famous  mare 
that  "  in  her  highest  trotting  form,  drawn  to  an  edge, 
she  is  almost  deer-like  in  appearance ;  and  when  scor- 
ing for  a  start,  and  alive  to  the  emergencies  of  the 
race,  with  her  great  flashing  eye  and  dilated  nostrils, 
she  is  a  perfect  picture  of  animation  and  living  beauty. 
Her  gait  is  long,  bold,  and  sweeping,  and  she  is,  in  the 
hands  of  a  driver  acquainted  with  her  peculiarities,  a 
perfect  piece  of  machinery." 

Not  a  few  horses  like  Goldsmith  Maid  have  had  this 
peculiar  thin-waisted  appearance,  and  yet  were  pos- 
sessed of  much  nervous  strength  and  of  great  cour- 
age. A  noted  trotter  described  by  Hiram  Woodruff 
was  of  this  character.  '-Rattler,"  he  says,  "was  a 
bay  gelding,  fifteen  hands  high,  a  fast  and  stout  horse, 
though  light- waisted  and  delicate  in  appetite  and  con- 
stitution. He  was  a  very  long  strider,  and  when  going 
his  best  it  sometimes  seemed  as  though  he  would  part 
in  the  middle."  He  was  afterward  taken  to  England, 
where  the  climate  suited  him  so  well  that  he  gained 
in  appetite,  and  consequently  in  health  and  strength. 

Goldsmith  Maid,  when  six  years  of  age,  was  sold  by 
her  breeder  for  $260,  having  never  been  put  to  work 


72  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE 


,        ix.avu, 


on  account  of  her  nervous  disposition.  She  had,  how- 
ever, taken  a  very  creditable  part  in  certain  amateur 
running  races,  which  were  held  in  a  grassy  lane  about 
one  quarter  of  a  mile  long.  These  dashes  always  took 
place  by  moonlight,  being  unauthorized  by  the  elders 
of  the  family,  but  secretly  enjoyed  by  the  boys  on  the 
farm.  Soon  after  she  left  her  birthplace  the  Maid 
was  sold  again  for  $600  to  Mr.  Alden  Goldsmith,  a 
famous  horseman,  by  whom  she  was  named.  He  kept 
her  for  five  years,  and  sold  her  for  $20,000.  Her 
dam  was  a  well-bred  animal,  probably  a  daughter 
of  Abdallah,  who  sired  Bysdyck's  Hambletonian. 
Goldsmith  Maid's  sire  was  Alexander's  Abdallah, 
whose  origin  and  fate  are  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 

All  the  great  trotters  have  had  grooms,  or  "  rub- 
bers," as  they  are  technically  called,  between  whom 
and  the  horses  a  strong  affection  existed.  The  name 
of  Peter  Conover  is  linked  in  this  way  with  that  of 
Dexter.  Conover  not  onl}T  "  rubbed '  Dexter,  but 
made  most  of  his  "boots."  and  gave  him  his  exercise. 
Dexter  was  an  intelligent  horse,  and  whenever  Budd 
Doble,  who  drove  him  in  his  races,  mounted  the  sulky, 
he  would  become  excited  and  pull,  thinking  that  a 
contest  impended  ;  but  with  his  groom  holding  the 
reins  he  would  go  along  quietly  enough.  The  same 
thing  is  true  of  Nancy  Hanks.  Earus  had  his  "  Dave  ': 
and  "  Barney."  A  colored  man  named  Grant  was  trans- 
ferred to  Mr.  Bonner  with  Maud  S.,  as  being  neces- 
sarily appurtenant  to  her.  "Lucy  Jimmy r  was,  as 
his  name  denotes,  the  attendant  of  Lucy,  a  celebrated 
mare  contemporary  with  Goldsmith  Maid,  and  very 
little  inferior  to  her  in  speed.     "  Old  Charlie  "  faith- 


TROTTING    HORSES.  73 

fully  served  the  Maid  herself  for  many  years,  during 
five  of  which  he  was  never  absent  from  her  stall  ex- 
cept for  two  nights.  Goldsmith  .Maid,  like  Rarus  and 
like  Johnston,  the  wonderful  pacer,  had  a  little  dog  as 
a  companion.  "They  were  a  great  family,"  says  Mr. 
Doble,  "  that  old  mare,  Old  Charlie,  and  the  dog,  — 
apparently  interested  in  nothing  else  in  the  world  but 
themselves,  and  getting  along  together  as  well  as  you 
could  wish.  When  it  was  bed-time  Charlie  would  lie 
down  on  his  cot  in  one  corner  of  the  stall,  his  pillow 
being  a  bag  containing  the  mare's  morning  feed  of 
oats ;  the  Maid  would  ensconce  herself  in  another 
corner  ;  and  somewhere  else  in  the  stall  the  dog  would 
stretch  himself  out.  About  five  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing the  Maid  would  get  a  little  restless  and  hungry. 
She  knew  well  enough  where  the  oats  were,  and  would 
come  over  to  where  Charlie  lay  sleeping  and  stick  her 
nose  under  his  head,  and  in  this  manner  wake  him, 
and  give  notice  that  she  wanted  to  be  fed." 

Goldsmith  Maid,  after  her  retirement  from  the 
track,  exhibited  a  very  bad  temper,  and  became  noto- 
rious for  kicking  and  biting.  She  was  kept  at  a  stock 
farm  in  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  and  one  day,  after  an 
absence  of  some  years,  "  Old  Charlie  "  came  to  see  her. " 
He  was  warned  not  to  go  near  the  mare,  but  neverthe- 
less he  entered  her  paddock.  The  Maid  recognized 
him  immediately,  neighed  with  pleasure,  and,  coining 
up,  rubbed  her  nose  against  him  with  every  mark  of 
affection.  At  this  farm,  Goldsmith  Maid  met  her  old 
rival,  Lucy,  and  the  two  venerable  mares  struck  up  a 
great  intimacy;  they  became  constant  companions, 
and  repelled  with  teeth  and  heels  all  other  equine 
society. 


74  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

I  shall  speak  hereafter  of  Goldsmith  Maid's  remark- 
able intelligence  in  "  scoring."  But  perhaps  the  most 
interesting  fact  in  her  career  is  that  she  made  her 
fastest  time,  2.14,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  ;  and  on  her 
twenty-first  birthday  Budd  Doble  drove  her  a  mile 
in  2.16.  Goldsmith  Maid  continued  on  the  track  for 
nearly  fifteen  years,  conquered  all  the  fastest  horses 
of  her  time,  and  trotted  in  all  332  heats  under  2.30. 
She  lasted  so  long  partly  because  of  her  good  breed- 
ing, and  partly,  it  may  be,  because  she  was  never 
trained  or  worked  until  she  had  become  a  mature 
horse.  The  fashion  now  is  to  make  the  trotter's 
career  begin  while  he  is  a  colt,  but  although  the  prac- 
tice has  not  been  tested  thoroughly,  it  must  be  fraught 
with  danger.  If  it  ever  should  become  general,  it 
is  certain  that  many  young  horses  would  be  over- 
worked and  ruined  every  year,  comparatively  few 
drivers  having  the  discretion  and  patience  that  are 
required  for  the  safe  "  preparation  "  of  a  colt.  There 
have  been  other  horses  who,  like  Goldsmith  Maid, 
being  well  bred  and  beginning  at  a  mature  age,  lasted 
a  long  time  on  the  track.  Dutchman,  who  trotted 
his  first  race  at  six  years  of  age,  was  a  sound  and 
fast  horse  at  eighteen.  Topgallant,  a  grandson  of  the 
thoroughbred  imported  horse  Messenger,  and  the  first 
to  make  a  record  of  2.40,  is  a  still  more  extraordinary 
example.  When  twenty-four  years  old  he  trotted  a 
very  hard  race  of  four  three-mile  heats  against  all 
the  best  horses  of  his  day,  winning  one  heat ;  and  the 
week  after  he  engaged  in  another  race  of  three-mile 
heats,  wiiich  he  won.  Old  Topgallant  was  a  great 
favorite  of  Hiram  Woodruff,  who  as  a  boy  took  care 
of  him.  and  as  a  young  man  trained,  rode,  and  drove 


TROTTING    HORSES.  75 

him.  Woodruff  describes  Topgallant  as  "  a  dark  bay 
horse,  15  hands  3  inches  high,  plain  and  raw  boned, 
but  with  rather  a  fine  head  and  neck,  and  an  eye 
expressive  of  much  courage.  He  was  spavined  in 
both  hind  legs,  and  his  tail  was  slim  at  the  root. 
His  spirit  was  very  high,  and  yet  he  was  so  reliable 
that  he  would  hardly  ever  break,  and  his  bottom  was 
of  the  finest  and  toughest  quality.  He  was  more 
than  fourteen  years  of  age  before  he  was  known  at 
all  as  a  trotter,  except  that  he  could  go  a  distance, 
the  whole  length  of  the  New  York  Eoad,  as  well  as 
any  horse  that  had  ever  been  extended  on  it." 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  there  was  living  on  a 
small  farm  at  Greenport,  Long  Island,  one  Mr.  E.  B. 
Conklin,  a  retired  stage  carpenter,  who  by  industry 
and  thrift  had  saved  a  little  money.  Mr.  Conklin  had 
a  passion  for  horses,  especially  for  trotters,  and  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  a  certain  colt  born  on  his  farm, 
and  the  only  one  that  he  ever  raised,  was  destined  to 
become  the  champion  trotter  of  the  world.  The 
colt's  sire  was  Conklin's  Abdallah,  whose  breeding  is 
unknown.  Its  mother  was  a  gray  nag  called  Nancy 
Awful,  half-thoroughbred,  and  very  high-spirited.  She 
also  belonged  to  Mr.  Conklin,  and  his  belief  in  her 
and  in  her  colt  became  a  sort  of  religion.  Many  men, 
no  doubt,  under  similar  circumstances,  have  been 
equally  enthusiastic,  but  the  peculiarity  in  this  case 
was  that  Mr.  Conklin  had  always  enjoyed  the  repu- 
tation of  being  "hard-headed."  His  neighbors  there- 
fore came  to  the  charitable  conclusion  that  on  this 
particular  subject  the  old  carpenter  had  gone  mad. 
The  foal  was  certainly  very  promising,  long,  muscular, 
and  full  of  life  and  spirit.     "  From   the   day  of  its 


76  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

birth,"  says  the  historian,  "  it  was  treated  differently 
from  any  other  animal  on  the  place.  As  soon  as  it 
had  been  weaned,  a  suitable  stall  was  built  in  a  big 
barn  for  its  accommodation,  and  from  that  day  forth 
nothing  was  left  undone  to  secure  its  comfort ;  and 
it  was  not  long  before  Conklin  and  his  colt  were  the 
talk  of  that  end  of  Long  Island.  When  the  colt  was 
three  years  old  it  was  broken  to  harness,  and  during 
the  following  summer  took  part  in  a  little  race  on 
the  Island,  winning  the  contest  in  about  three  min- 
utes. Then  the  old  man  was  more  certain  than  ever 
that  he  had  the  wonder  of  the  world,  and  redoubled 
his  efforts  in  the  way  of  care,  etc.,  had  a  special  sta- 
ble built  for  the  colt,  with  an  office  adjoining,  where 
in  winter,  all  seated  around  a  big  fire,  he  would 
entertain  his  neighbors,  telling  them  what  a  great 
horse  that  colt  was  going  to  be.  .  .  .  For  the  next 
two  years  Mr.  Conklin  gave  almost  his  entire  time 
to  the  care  and  education  of  this  colt.  He  bought 
himself  a  light  wagon,  got  a  set  of  double  harness, 
secured  an  old  runner,  and  as  he  was  a  very  heavy 
man,  and  did  not  want  to  compel  the  colt  to  draw  his 
weight,  he  hooked  him  by  the  side  of  the  runner, 
and  in  this  manner  he  received  his  first  lessons  in 
trotting."  1 

The  extraordinary  part  of  this  story  is  that  the  colt, 
who  was  called  Earus,  perfectly  fulfilled  the  extrav- 
agant expectations  of  his  breeder  and  owner,  becoming 
the  champion  trotter  of  the  world,  and  reducing  the 
record  in  1878  to  2.13].  Mr.  Conklin  brought  him 
up  well,  for  Splan,  in  whose  hands  Rarus  passed  the 

1  This  quotation  is  from  John  S]  dan's  "  Life  with  the  Trotters," 
a  verv  entertaininc:  work. 


TROTTING    HOUSES.  77 

famous  part  of    his  career,   declared   that   he   never 
drove  a  better   broken  horse. 

Rarus  was  a  ran-}-  bay,  of  high  courage,  with  a  plain 
though  blood-like  and  intelligent  head,  a  good  neck, 
but  rather  poor  feet.  Excepting  the  tendency  to  in- 
flammation in  his  feet,  lie  was  a  remarkably  healthy 
horse,  never  losing  his  appetite  despite  the  long  jour- 
neys that  he  made  and  the  hard  races  that  he  trotted. 
At  one  time  Rarus  served  as  a  foil  for  Goldsmith 
Maid,  just  as  in  earlier  days  George  M.  Fatchen,  John 
Morgan,  and  other  horses  did  for  Flora  Temple,  and 
as  the  same  Patchen  and  Princess  did  later  for  Dex- 
ter. But  in  this  case  there  was  a  difference.  Rarus 
was  much  younger  than  Goldsmith  Maid,  and  he  was 
controlled  by  a  driver  who  had  no  notion  of  using  him 
up  in  hopeless  contests. 

Both  horses  spent  the  winter  of  1876-77  in  Cali- 
fornia, where  they  gave  some  "  exhibition "  races,  no 
pools  being  sold,  and  it  being  understood  that  Rarus 
would  not  attempt  to  win.  In  the  spring,  a  purse 
was  offered  in  a  "  free-for-all "  race,  near  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  both  Goldsmith  Maid  and  Rarus  were 
entered.  The  betting  men  in  general  supposed  that 
the  Maid  would  have  an  easy  victory,  but  Rarus  de- 
feated her,  Splan  and  his  friends  thus  winning  a 
great  sum.  This  race  marked  the  end  of  Goldsmith 
Maid's  public  career.  Rarus  took  her  place  as  a 
"  star  "  performer,  and  two  years  later  he  was  sold  to 
Mr.  Robert  Bonner  for  .^36,000. 

Xo  sketch  of  Rarus  would  be  complete  without 
some  mention  of  his  remarkable  friendship  for  a  dog. 
When  the  horse  was  in  California,  a  fireman  s^ave  to 
Splan  a  wiry-haired  Scotch  terrier  pup,  who  was  then 


78  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

two  months  old,  and  weighed  when  full  grown  only- 
fifteen  pounds.  Splan  in  turn  gave  the  pup  to  Dave, 
the  groom  of  flams,  with  a  caution  not  to  let  the  horse 
hurt  him,  for  on  several  occasions  Rarus  had  bitten 
dogs  that  ventured  into  his  stall.  But  to  this  terrier, 
who  is  described  as  possessing  "  almost  human  intel- 
ligence," the  trotter  took  a  great  fancy,  which  the  dog 
fully  returned.  They  became  fast  and  inseparable 
friends.  "  Xot  only,'5  says  Mr.  Splan,  "  were  they  ex- 
tremely fond  of  each  other,  but  they  showed  their 
affection  plainly  as  did  ever  a  man  for  a  woman.  We 
never  took  any  pains  to  teach  the  dog  anything  about 
the  horse.  Everything  he  knew  came  to  him  by  his 
own  patience.  From  the  time  I  took  him  to  the  sta- 
ble, a  pup,  until  I  sold  Rarus,  they  were  never  sepa- 
rated an  hour.  We  once  left  the  dog  in  the  stall  while 
we  took  the  horse  to  the  blacksmith  shop,  and  when 
we  came  back  we  found  he  had  made  havoc  with  every- 
thing there  was  in  there,  trying  to  get  out,  while  the 
horse  during  the  entire  journey  was  uneasy,  restless, 
and  in  general  acted  as  badly  as  the  dog  did.  Dave 
remarked  that  he  thought  that  we  had  better  keep  the 
horse  and  dog  together  after  that.  When  Rarus  went 
to  the  track  for  exercise,  or  to  trot  a  race,  the  dog 
would  follow  Dave  around  and  sit  by  the  gate  at  his 
side,  watching  Rarus  with  as  much  interest  as  Dave 
did.  When  the  horse  returned  to  the  stable  after  a 
heat,  and  was  unchecked,  the  dog  would  walk  up  and 
climb  up  on  his  forward  legs  and  kiss  him,  the  horse 
always  bending  his  head  down  to  receive  the  caress. 
In  the  stable,  after  work  was  over,  Jim  and  the  horse 
would  often  frolic  like  two  boys.  If  the  horse  lay 
down,  Jim  would  climb  on  his  back,  and  in  that  way 


TROTTING    HORSES.  79 

soon  learned  to  ride  him;  and  whenever  I  led  Rarus 
out  to  show  him  to  the  public,  Jim  invariably  knew 
what  it  meant,  and  enhanced  the  value  of  the  per- 
formance by  the  manner  m  which  he  would  get  on  the 
horse's  back.  On  these  occasions  the  horse  was  shown 
to  halter,  and  Jimmy,  who  learned  to  distinguish  such 
events  from  those  in  which  the  sulky  was  used,  would 
follow  Dave  and  Earus  out  on  the  quarter  stretch ; 
and  then  when  the  halt  was  made  in  front  of  the  grand 
stand,  Dave  would  stoop  down,  and  in  a  flash  Jimmy 
would  jump  on  his  back,  run  up  his  shoulder,  from 
there  leap  on  the  horse's  back,  and  there  he  would 
stand,  his  head  high  in  the  air  and  his  tail  out  stiff 
behind,  barking  furiously  at  the  people.  He  seemed 
to  know  that  he  was  as  much  a  part  of  the  show  as 
the  horse,  and  apparently  took  great  delight  in  attract- 
ing attention  to  himself/* 

When  Earns  was  sold  to  Mr.  Bonner,  Splan  sent 
Jimmy  with  the  horse,  rightly  judging  that  it  would 
be  cruel  to  separate  them.  But  in  Mr.  Bonner's  stable 
there  was  already  a  bull-terrier  in  charge,  and  one  day 
when,  for  some  real  or  fancied  affront,  the  small  dog 
attacked  the  larger  one,  the  latter  took  Jimmy  by  the 
neck  and  was  fast  killing  him ;  but  Karus  heard  his 
outcries,  and  perceiving  that  his  little  friend  was  in 
danger  and  distress,  pulled  back  on  the  halter  till  it 
broke,  rushed  out  of  his  stall,  and  would  have  made 
short  work  with  the  bull-terrier  had  he  not  been  re- 
strained by  the  grooms. 

The  examples  which  I  have  cited  prove  that  horses 
are  far  more  capable  of  attaching  themselves  to  other 
animals,  man  included,  than  is  commonly  supposed; 
for  neither  Dexter  nor   Goldsmith  Maid    nor  Barus 


80  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

was  particularly  affectionate  in  disposition.  There  is 
recorded  one  extraordinary  case  of  friendship  between 
an  old  horse  and  a  young  one.  A  trotting-bred  colt, 
called  Bay,  had  conceived  a  great  fondness  for  a  gray 
gelding  who  was  pastured  in  the  same  lot  with  him, 
his  affection  being  warmly  returned.  When  the  young 
horse  arrived  at  the  proper  age  he  was  sent  to  a  trainer, 
but  in  his  new  quarters  he  became  unmanageable  ;  he 
refused  to  eat,  kicked  and  plunged  in  his  stall,  and 
kept  the  whole  place  in  an  uproar.  Finally  he  was  re- 
turned to  the  farm,  and  put  back  in  the  field  with  his 
gray  friend,  where  he  seemed  perfectly  contented. 
His  owner  then  concluded  that  he  would  have  to  send 
the  old  horse  also  to  the  trainer,  as  a  sort  of  compan- 
ion or  nurse  to  the  young  one.  This  he  did,  and  there- 
after the  two  animals  were  never  separated.  When 
Bay's  education  was  so  far  advanced  that  he  was 
thought  worthy  to  go  on  the  "  grand  circuit,"  the  gray 
gelding  was  taken  with  him  from  city  to  city.  In  the 
"palace  horse  car"  which  conveyed  Bay  and  the 
other  costly  racers,  a  stall  was  invariably  reserved  for 
his  humble  friend ;  and  whenever  Bay  engaged  in  a 
race  the  old  horse  accompanied  the  "  rubbers  "  to  the 
track,  being  always  stationed  in  some  place  where  the 
young  trotter  could  conveniently  see  and  speak  to  him 
between  the  heats.  In  another  case,  a  great  affection 
sprang  up  between  a  trotter  and  a  goat ;  and  certain 
friendships  between  horses  and  other  animals  have  be- 
come historical.  Thus  the  Godolphin  Arabian  had  his 
cat,  Eclipse  his  sheep,  and  Chillaby  or  the  "Mad 
Arabian "  was  excessively  fond  of  a  lamb  that  kept 
the  flies  from  him. 

The  2.13J  of  Ranis  was  reduced  the  very  next  year 


TROTTING    HORSES.  81 

by  St.  Julien  to  2. 11  J.  This  is  a  big,  slashing  bay 
horse,  with  a  large  but  good  head,  wide  hips,  and  pow- 
erful hiud  legs.  His  sire  was  Volunteer,  who  was  by 
the  famous  Rysdyck's  Hambletonian,  Volunteer's  dam 
being  a  well-bred  mare,  from  whom  he  derived  a  hand- 
some head  and  neck  and  a  high  spirit,  these  being 
characteristics  seldom  found  in  the  Hambletonian 
strain.  The  dam  of  St.  Julien  was  of  the  Clay  fam- 
ily, which  he  closely  resembled.  St.  Julien,  like  many 
other  trotters,  was  not  educated  to  the  turf  without 
the  expenditure  of  exceeding  pains  on  the  part  of  his 
trainer  and  driver,  Mr.  Orrin  Hickock.  He  is  a  very 
nervous  horse,  and  it  required  months  of  practice  be- 
fore he  became  accustomed  to  "scoring,"  so  that  he 
was  fit  to  start  in  a  race. 

A  year  later,  Maud  S.  reduced  the  record  to  2. 10 J, 
and  again  in  1885,  to  2.08|,  which  is  still  the  best 
time  for  a  regulation  or  oval-shaped  track,  though 
on  the  kite-shaped  track  Palo  Alto  equalled  it,  and 
Sunol  surpassed  it  by  half  a  second  in  the  autumn  of 
1891.  Jay-Eye-See,  with  his  record  of  2.10,  held  the 
supremacy  for  a  single  day  in  1884.  He  is  an  honest 
but  ugly  little  black  horse,  having  hind  legs  of  tre- 
mendous power,  which  propel  him  with  the  accuracy 
and  force  of  locomotive  driving-wheels.  Jay-Eye-See 
was  by  Dictator,  a  son  of  Rysdyck's  Hambletonian, 
and  brother  to  Dexter.  Jay-Eye-See's  dam  was  a 
daughter  of  Pilot  Jr.,  and  his  grandam  was  by  Lex- 
ington, a  famous  race  horse  inbred  to  Diomed.  Maud 
S.,  as  we  have  seen,  was  bred  in  much  the  same  way. 
Her  sire  was  Harold,  by  Rysdyck's  Hambletonian ; 
her  dam  was  Miss  Russell,  by  Pilot  Jr.,  and  her 
grandam  was  by  Boston,  the  four-mile  racer,  and  sire 

6 


82  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

of  Lexington.  Maud  S.  shows  her  thoroughbred 
quality  in  every  line.  She  is  a  medium-sized  golden 
chestnut,  with  a  good  neck,  a  large,  but  bony,  clean- 
cut,  and  noble  head,  ears  that  are  well  shaped,  though 
a  little  too  big,  and  a  large  eye,  full  of  intelligence 
and  courage.  She  has  a  straight  back  and  strong 
quarters.  Her  present  owner,  Mr.  Robert  Bonner, 
says  of  her:  "Maud  S.  is  the  most  intelligent  and 
the  most  affectionate  animal  that  I  have  ever  owned. 
She  has,  however,  '  a  will  of  her  own,'  and  would  re- 
sent harsh  treatment  of  any  kind;  but  if  you  use 
her  gently  and  kindly  you  can  do  anything  with  her. 
Soloman's  dictum  concerning  children  would  not  an- 
swer in  her  case.  If  you  did  not  '  spare  the  rod,'  you 
would  be  sure  to  '  spoil '  her.  I  would  as  soon  think 
of  striking  a  woman  as  to  give  Maud  S.  a  sharp  cut 
with  a  whip."  There  was  a  time  in  the  career  of 
Maud  S.  when  she  was  wild,  ungovernable,  and,  as  a 
racing  mare,  nearly  if  not  quite  worthless.  But  a 
long  course  of  patient  training  brought  her  back  to 
her  original  state,  and  she  is  now  perhaps  the  best 
driving  horse  as  well  as  the  fastest  trotter  in  the 
world. 

I  have  mentioned  the  California  horses  Palo  Alto 
and  Sunol.  The  former,  whose  breeding  has  alread}^ 
been  stated,  is  a  noble  animal,  of  immense  courage,  of 
bull-dog  tenacity,  and  of  sound  bottom.  He  is  a  big 
brown  horse,  with  fine  shoulders,  a  well-shaped  neck, 
and  a  handsome  though  not  superfine  head.  Palo 
Alto  has  large,  intelligent  eyes,  widely  separated, 
and  altogether  he  presents  an  appearance  of  sub- 
stance, of  character,  and  of  dignity.  During  the 
greater  part  of  his  career  upon  the  turf  he  has  suf- 


TROTTING   HORSES.  83 

fered  from  a  "  game "  leg,  and  yet  he  has  never 
flinched  or  faltered.  Considering  his  half-thorough- 
bred origin,  he  is  a  little  phlegmatic  ;  it  takes  severe 
work  to  "  warm  him  up,"  and  he  is  apt  to  lose  the 
first  heat  or  two  in  a  race.  "  Palo  Alto,"  writes  Mr. 
Marvin,  "  requires  constant  and  vigorous  driving,  but 
there  is  a  point  beyond  which  it  is  dangerous  to  go." 
Sunol,  his  half-sister,  has  not  yet  been  tested  in  a  long 
race,  but  she  has  shown  an  extraordinary  capacity 
of  sustaining  speed  for  a  mile.  Of  all  the  famous 
trotters  Sunol  appears  to  have  the  least  pleasant 
disposition;  she  is  too  intelligent  to  be  positively 
vicious,  but  she  is  irritable,  and  perhaps  a  little 
spiteful.  It  is  said  that  she  has  an  especial  dislike 
for  her  trainer  and  driver,  Mr.  Marvin,  and  that 
she  shows  this  feeling  unmistakably  whenever  he 
comes  near  her.  Nevertheless,  the  two  seem  to  un- 
derstand each  other  perfectly.  "  SunoPs  redeeming 
feature,"  says  a  California  writer,  "is  her  affection 
for  her  groom."  1 

Another  half-brother  of  Sunol,  the  young  Arion,2  is 
commonly  regarded  as  the  greatest  trotter  yet  pro- 
duced. Arion  is  a  small  bay  horse,  not  particularly 
beautiful  or  striking  in  appearance,  except  in  one  re- 
spect. His  hind  legs,  and  especially  the  hocks,  are 
enormously  large  and  muscular.  To  this  peculiarity, 
no  doubt,  he  owes  his  extreme  speed.  His  disposi- 
tion is  superlatively  good,  and  he  is  said  to  be  full  of 

1  Sunol  is  by  Electioneer.  Her  dam  was  by  General  Benton. 
Sunol's  grandam  was  Waxy,  a  thoroughbred  daughter  of  Lexing- 
ton, just  mentioned. 

2  By  Electioneer.  His  dam  is  Manette,  by  Nutwood.  Arion 's 
two-year-old  record,  as  already  stated,  is  2.1  Of. 


84  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

life  and  energy.  "  When  lie  went  back  to  the  stall 
after  his  wonderful  mile  at  Stockton,"  relates  a  writer 
in  the  San  Francisco  Examiner,  "  Arion  was  as  full 
of  play  as  any  frisky  young  thing  just  out  of  the 
paddock.  He  had  just  trotted  a  mile  that  would  kill 
many  great  horses,  but  he  caught  hold  of  the  groom's 
coat  with  his  teeth,  shook  it  as  a  terrier  does  a  rat, 
and  nosed  around  the  pockets  for  sugar,  of  which 
he  is  inordinately  fond.  Assuring  himself  that  the 
groom  was  out  of  the  way,  he  let  fly  with  one  hind 
foot,  and  struck  the  wall  behind  him  with  a  bang  like 
the  report  of  a  pistol ;  then  he  looked  around  to  see 
how  big  a  hole  he  had  made  in  the  wood."  Arion,  it 
is  said,  enjoys  admiration,  and  likes  to  be  looked  at, 
talked  to,  and  photographed.  "  He  loves  everybody. 
There  is  not  a  streak  of  meanness  in  his  composition. 
He  would  not  harm  a  mangy  dog  that  came  into  his 
stall  to  sleep."     He  has  "  large,  soft  eyes." 

In  the  course  of  this  brief  survey  it  must  have 
occurred  to  the  reader  that  there  is  one  respect  in 
which  all  the  most  distinguished  trotters  have  resem- 
bled  one  another,  and  that  is  in  their  nervous  energy, 
their  high  spirit  and  courage.  That  latent  flame 
which  the  Washington  Hollow  horseman  detected  in 
the  eye  of  Flora  Temple  came  out  afterward  in  the 
resolute  bursts  of  speed  with  which  she  finished  her 
fastest  miles.  Dexter  was  represented  as  being  "  chock 
full  of  fire  and  deviltry,"  and  capable  of  jumping  like 
a  cat.  Hiram  Woodruff,  as  we  have  seen,  spoke  of  his 
"  wicked  head."  Goldsmith  Maid  had  a  strong  will 
of  her  own,  and  the  excitement  which  she  betrayed  on 
the  eve  of  a  race  showed  how  fine  was  her  organiza- 
tion.    "  She  would  stand   quietly  enough,"  says  her 


TROTTING    HORSES.  85 

driver,  "  while  being  hitched  to  the  sulky,"  —  although 
she  had  previously  been  kicking  and  plunging  in  her 
stall,  — "  but  she  would  shake  and  tremble  until  I 
have  heard  her  feet  make  the  same  noise  against  the 
hard  ground  that  a  person's  teeth  will  when  the  body 
is  suddenly  chilled ;  that  is,  her  feet  actually  chattered 
on  the  ground.  The  instant  I  would  get  into  the  sulky 
all  this  would  pass  away,  and  she  would  start  in  a 
walk  for  the  track  as  sober  as  any  old  horse  you  ever 
saw."  Rarus  was  so  nervous  that  he  never  could  have 
been  driven  with  safety  on  the  road,  and  his  courage 
was  of  the  finest  temper.  St.  Julien  was  exceedingly 
high  strung,  and  in  hands  less  patient  and  discreet 
than  those  of  his  trainer  might  never  have  been  sub- 
dued to  the  purposes  of  racing.  Jay-Eye-See,  though 
I  know  less  of  his  personal  history,  is  notorious  for 
the  pluck  that  he  showed  on  the  last  quarters  of  his 
hard  miles ;  and  Maud  S.  is  the  most  spirited,  the 
most  determined,  and  at  the  same  time  the  gentlest 
of  animals. 

Sunol  is  described  by  Governor  Stanford,  who  bred 
her,  as  "  a  bundle  of  nerves."  Palo  Alto 1  is  a  horse 
of  immense  resolution,  and  Arion  overflows  with 
energy.  The  groom  who  has  been  his  constant  com- 
panion night  and  day  for  the  past  year  or  more  says 
that  he  never  saw  Arion  stand  quietly  for  a  full 
minute.  "  He  is  never  at  rest,  and  is  always  at  play,- 
except  when  the  harness  goes  on,  and  he  feels  Mar- 
vin's hand  on  the  lines :  then  lie  becomes  at  once  an 
old  campaigner,  not  a  frisky  colt." 

In  all  these  horses  we  find  strength  of  will,  fine- 
ness of  nerve,  and  a  "  do  or  die  "  quality  that  goes 

1  Palto  Alto  died  of  pneumonia  after  this  chapter  was  in  type. 


86 


ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


far  to  redeem  the  trotting  track  from  those  degrading 
associations  with  which,  one  must  admit,  it  is  almost 
always  connected.  Man  may  take  a  lesson  from  the 
horse,  as  well  as  from  the  dog,  in  courage,  in  resolu- 
tion, and  in  discipline.  It  is  a  noble  spirit  that  ani- 
mates the  exhausted  trotter,  who,  obedient  to  the  rein 
and  voice  of  the  jockey,  expends  his  last  reserve  of 
force  on  the  home  stretch,  and  staggers  under  the 
wire  a  winner  by  a  head. 


IV. 


TROTTING   RACES. 


SINCE  1824,  when  trotting  may  be  said  to  have 
begun  as  a  sport,  the  record  has  been  reduced 
from  2  minutes  40  seconds  to  2  minutes  8f  seconds.1 
"Whence  comes  this  great  advance?  It  is  due  to 
improvements  in  trotting  courses,  in  sulkies,  in 
horseshoes,  in  boots  and  toe-weights,  in  harness  (par- 

1  Since  this  chapter  was  printed,  the  record  has  been  reduced  by 
Nancy  Hanks  to  2.04.  On  this  occasion,  however,  she  drew  the 
newly  invented  "  bicycle  "  sulky  with  pneumatic  rubber  tires,  the 
use  of  which  is  thought  to  make  a  saving  of  at  least  two  seconds  in 
a  mile.  Nancy  Hanks  is  by  Happy  Medium,  son  of  Rysdyck's 
Hambletonian  :  her  dam  was  Nancy  Lee,  by  Dictator,  another  son 
of  Hambletonian  and  brother  to  Dexter.  Nancy  Lee's  dam  was  by 
Edwin  Forrest,  of  the  half-bred  Kentucky  Hunter  family  to  which 
Flora  Temple  belonged.  Edwin  Forrest  also  sired  the  dam  of 
Mambrino  King. 


88  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

ticularly  in  the  device  of  the  overdraw  check),  in 
training  and  driving,  and  finally  in  the  speed  and 
endurance  of  the  trotters  themselves.  The  gain  in 
actual  speed  for  a  short  distance  has  been  much 
slighter  than  is  commonly  supposed.  So  long  ago  as 
1866,  Hiram  Woodruff  drove  Mr.  Bonner's  gray 
mare  Peerless  (who  was  bred  like  Dexter,  being  in 
part  Messenger  and  in  part  Star)  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in  two  minutes, —  and  this  not 
to  a  sulky,  but  to  a  skeleton  wagon,  a  four-wheeled 
vehicle,  which  is  much  heavier.  It  is  doubtful  if 
this  rate  of  going  will  ever  greatly  be  surpassed, 
though  it  is,  I  think,  commonly  believed  by  horse- 
men that  some  time  or  other  a  mile  will  be  trotted 
in  two  minutes.  The  gain  will  probably  be  not  so 
much  in  speed  for  a  short  distance  as  in  the  ability 
to  maintain  speed  for  a  full  circuit  of  the  track. 
Even  Maud  S.  flagged  a  little  on  the  last  quarter  of 
her  fastest  mile. 

For  the  past  fifty  years,  and  especially  for  the 
latter  half  of  that  time,  much  ingenuity  and  in- 
ventive skill  have  been  employed  to  afford  the  trot- 
ter all  the  mechanical  assistance  that  is  possible. 
Tracks  are  made  of  an  elliptical  instead  of  a  round 
shape,  because  the  two  comparatively  long  stretches 
or  straight  pieces  th%s  obtained  give  the  horse, 
particularly  a  big-striding  one,  the  opportunity  that 
he  requires  to  get  up  his  speed.  Courses  laid  out  in 
this  way  are  found  to  be  much  faster  than  the  old 
tracks,  which  were  more  nearly  round.  During  the 
past  two  years  many  tracks  have  been  constructed 
in  what  is  called  the  kite  shape,  which  resembles 
a  long  loop,    or  an   oval,    the  sides  of   which   have 


TROTTING    RACES.  89 

been  compressed  until  they  nearly  meet.  On  these 
tracks  the  horses  start  from  one  end  of  the  loop,  go 
up  one  side,  come  back  on  the  other,  and  finish  at 
the  starting  point.  The  kite  track  is  considered  to 
be  about  two  seconds  faster  than  the  ordinary  or 
regulation  track,  because  it  consists  almost  entirely 
of  two  long  stretches;  but  it  is  of  course  very  un- 
satisfactory to  the  spectator,  who  is  able  to  see, 
in  any  real  sense,  only  tne  beginning  and  the  finish 
of  the  race.  It  seems  unlikely  that  these  tracks  will 
long  be  tolerated.1 

Then,  too,  the  footing  has  greatly  been  improved. 
The  best  tracks  now  have  an  nnderlayer  of  turf  or 
of  bog  grass,  which  makes  them  springy,  and  the 
surface  is  soft  without  being  deep  or  heavy.  The 
sulky  drawn  by  Dutchman,  the  old-time  trotter,  of 
whom  I  have  spoken  in  a  former  chapter,  weighed 
eighty-two  pounds.  Hiram  Woodruff,  writing  in 
1867,  mentioned  this  fact,  adding,  "  I  now  have  two 
that  weigh  less  than  sixty  pounds."  The  present 
weight  is  about  forty  pounds.2  This  reduction  of 
forty  pounds,  or  one  half  of  the  total  weight,  since 
Dutchman's  day,  makes  a  great  difference  in  time 
for  a  mile,  being  probably  equivalent  on  the  average 
to  about  one  and  a  half  seconds. 

1  In  Delaware,  perhaps  in  other  States  also,  a  kite  track  which 
is  down  grade  all  the  way  has  been  constructed.  This  crowning 
absurdity  was  accomplished  by  making  the  return  side  of  the  loop 
end  at  a  lower  level  than  that  from  which  the  outgoing  side  of 
the  loop  starts. 

'-'  I  have  seen  latelv  in  a  Boston  warehouse  a  skeleton  wagon 
that  weighs  but  fifty  pounds,  and  a  top  buggy  that  weighs  only 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pounds.  Nancy  Hanks's  sulky 
weighs  but  thirty-eight  pounds.  Such  vehicles  might  almost  be 
described  as  works  of  art. 


90  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

Equal  mechanical  skill  lias  been  exerted  in  an- 
other direction.  Many  horses  cannot  be  driven  at 
anything  like  their  highest  speed  without  danger 
of  cutting  themselves,  by  striking  one  foot  or  leg 
against  another,  especially  when  they  "  break  " ;  and 
to  protect  them  from  injury  in  this  manner  a  great 
variety  of  "  boots"  have  been  invented.  Counting  dif- 
ferent sizes  of  these  articles  separately,  the  number 
of  them  now  on  sale  is  over  two  hundred.  Very  few 
trotters  are  able  to  dispense  with  boots  entirely,  and 
many  of  them  could  not  be  used  as  race  horses  at  all 
except  for  these  appliances.  The  shoeing  of  trotting 
horses,  again,  is  an  art  in  itself,1  and  so  is  the  use  of 
toe-weights,  which  are  small  pieces  of  brass  screwed 
or  otherwise  attached  to  the  hoofs  of  the  fore  feet. 
Heavy  shoes  and  toe-weights  are  employed  to  make 
horses  trot  who  otherwise  would  pace,  to  keep  them 
level  in  their  gait,  and  sometimes  to  cause  a  length- 
ening of  their  stride.  The  difficulty  and  importance 
of  these  matters  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that 
a  change  of  no  more  than  two  ounces  in  a  trotter's 
fore  shoes  or  toe-weights  would,  in  many  cases,  make 
a  difference  of  several  seconds  in  his  speed  for  a 
mile,  and  consequently  of  thousands  of  dollars  in  his 
value  as  a  race  horse.  The  necessity  for  toe-weights 
or  heavy  shoes  lies  in  some  defect  of  conformation 
or  of  gait,  and  when  a  trotter  is  obliged  to  carry  a 
heavy  load  in  this  manner  his  feet  and  legs  suffer. 

1  A  fast  horse  now  on  the  track  is  shod  as  follows :  a  sixteen- 
onnce  shoe  on  the  off  fore  foot,  and  a  fourteen  and  a  half  ounce 
shoe  on  the  near  one ;  a  shoe  of  eight  ounces  on  the  off  hind  foot, 
and  one  of  six  ounces  on  the  near  hind  foot.  Jack,  to  take  another 
instance,  wore  only  light  tips  on  his  fore  feet  Avhen  he  made  his 
record  of  2.12^. 


TROTTING    RACES.  91 

The  famous  Smuggler,  a  noble  brown  stallion  with 
a  white  blaze  in  his  face,  a  heavy  and  powerful  an- 
imal, was  originally  a  pacer,  and  in  his  races  he  wore 
shoes  on  his  fore  feet  weighing  two  pounds  each; 
in  fact,  he  is  said  to  have  carried  at  one  time  three 
pounds  on  each  fore  foot.  His  great  strength  and 
courage  enabled  him  to  bear  this  burden,  but  event- 
ually it  disabled  him.  Smuggler  was  once  sold  for 
$40,000,  the  highest  price  at  that  time  ever  paid 
in  this  country  for  a  horse;  and  though  he  was 
capable  of  very  high  speed,  he  is  regarded  as  on 
the  whole  a  failure.  If  he  made  a  single  break  in 
a  race,  he  lost  so  much  ground  that  he  was  nearly 
sure  to  be  distanced.  This  peculiarity  is  explained 
by  Mr.  H.  T.  Helm,  who  says  that  Smuggler's  stride 
with  his  fore  legs  is  not  long  enough  to  correspond 
with  the  tremendous  stroke  of  his  hind  legs,  and 
consequently  that  he  is  apt  to  lose  his  balance.  If 
he  does  so,  one  of  two  things  must  occur:  he  will 
either  fall  headlong  and  prostrate  on  the  ground, — 
which  of  course  does  not  happen,  —  or  he  will  throw 
out  both  fore  feet  together  ;  in  other  words,  gallop 
instead  of  trot.  But  Smuggler  gallops  very  high  in 
front,  and  therefore  it  is  not  easy  for  him  to  change 
quickly  back  again  from  the  gallop  to  the  trot :  his 
speed  has  to  be  very  much  reduced  before  he  can 
pass  from  one  gait  to  the  other,  and  in  this  way  he 
loses  so  much  ground  that  the  other  horses  in  the 
race  are  very  likely  to  distance  him.  That  a  horse 
so  severely  handicapped  by  heavy  shoes  could  trot 
such  races  as  Smuggler  did  is  a  good  illustration 
of  equine  strength  and  pluck. 

The  last  factor  in  the  development  of  the  trotting 


92  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

horse  is  the  driver;  and  here  we  touch  upon  the 
great  difference  between  running  and  trotting  races. 
A  running  race  may  be  described,  with  some  exag- 
geration, as  a  brief  but  spirited  flight  of  colts  ridden 
by  boys,  whereas  a  trotting  race  is  a  long-drawn 
contest  between  seasoned  horses  and  mature  men, 
who  are  commonly  the  trainers  as  well  as  the  drivers 
of  their  steeds.  Not  all  running  horses,  to  be  sure, 
are  colts,  nor  all  their  riders  boys,  but  the  limit  of 
age  in  the  horse  and  of  weight  in  the  man  is  quickly 
reached.  In  trotting  races  the  jockeys  are  always 
men;  the  standard  weight  is  150  pounds,  and  if  the 
driver  falls  below  that  he  must  carry  lead  enough  on 
his  sulky  to  make  up  the  deficiency.  In  running 
races,  steeple-chases  excepted,  the  weight  (including 
that  of  the  rider)  varies,  roughly  speaking,  from  75 
to  130  pounds,  and  a  Fred  Archer  who  tips  the  scales 
at  anything  over  j20  must  retire  to  private  life. 
Then,  again,  running  races,  nowadays  at  least,  al- 
most invariably  consist  of  a  single  dash,  whereas 
trotting  races  are  in  heats,  the  best  three  in  five: 
and  this  affords  an  opportunity  for  stratagem  and 
patience  on  the  part  of  the  driver;  for  courage,  en- 
durance, and  even  for  recuperation  on  the  part  of 
the  horse.  There  is,  therefore,  in  the  trotting  race, 
an  element  of  subtlety  which  gives  it  a  peculiar  fas- 
cination. The  typical  driver  who  has  been  evolved 
from  these  conditions  is  a  spare  but  sinewy  man, 
with  a  quiet  manner  and  a  firm  mouth, —  as  distinctly 
American  a  person  as  any  that  can  be  found.  His 
chief  qualities,  so  far  as  the  horse  is  concerned,  are 
sympathy  and  resolution.  "Confidence  between  the 
trotting  horse  and  his  driver,"  said  the  great  master 


TROTTING   RACES.  93 

of  the  art,  "  is  of  the  utmost  importance :  it  is  all  in 
all.  Some  men  inspire  it  readily,  so  that  a  horse 
will  take  hold  and  do  all  he  knows  the  first  time  the 
man  drives  him.  For  another  man  the  same  horse 
will  not  trot  a  yard.  The  truth  is  that  the  horse  is 
a  very  knowing,  sagacious  creature,  much  more  so 
than  he  gets  credit  for.  If  a  driver  has  no  settled 
system  of  his  own,  or  if  he  is  rash  or  severe  without 
cause,  it  is  not  likely  that  confidence  will  be  inspired 
in  the  horse,  even  in  a  long  time." 

It  is  a  fact  often  remarked,  that  some  drivers  suc- 
ceed much  better  with  certain  equine  families  than 
with  others,  the  reason  doubtless  being  that  they  are 
better  adapted  to  them  in  disposition.  A  trainer, 
for  example,  who  did  very  well  with  a  well  known 
high-spirited  and  wilful  breed  failed  conspicuously 
with  another  strain,  of  a  milder  and  more  gentle 
nature. 

There  are,  indeed,  some  boisterous  drivers,  but 
they  are  not  the  most  successful;  in  fact,  the 
quality  of  a  horseman  can  almost  be  discovered  by 
observing  the  manner  in  which  he  goes  up  to  the 
animal's  head  or  enters  his  stall.  The  loud,  rough 
fellow  may  be  a  judge  of  soundness,  and  fairly  well 
qualified  for  the  box  seat  of  a  hack;  but  he  is  not 
the  man  for  a  close  finish  with  a  tired  horse,  when 
victory  depends  upon  calling  out  the  last  reserve  of 
strength;  nor  will  he  make  the  successful  trainer  of 
a  high-strung  colt.  The  trotter,  moreover,  cannot 
be  convinced  by  mere  noise  and  violence :  he  is  much 
too  clever  an  animal  for  that,  and  will  hardly  be 
cheated  into  thinking  that  the  jockey  possesses  any 
quality  which  he  really  lacks.     But  when  a  driver 


94  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

has  the  required  combination  of  sympathy  and  force, 
the  trotter  is  quick  to  recognize  his  master  and  ready 
to  obey  him. 

"One  half  of  a  horse's  speed,"  wrote  Mr.  George 
Wilkes,  "is  in  the  mind  of  his  rider  or  driver. 
When  it  is  known  to  the  world  that  a  horse  has 
made  a  mile  a  second  or  half-second  faster  than  it 
was  ever  made  before,  some  rider  of  some  other 
horse,  nerving  himself  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
fact,  and  infusing  that  knowledge  into  his  horse  by 
dint  of  his  own  enthusiasm,  sends  him  a  second  or 
two  faster  still;  and  the  result  of  the  mental  emu- 
lation is  a  permanent  improvement  which  never  is 
retraced.  Hiram  Woodruff  was  the  first  to  take  this 
mental  grip  of  the  powers  of  the  trottiug  horse;  and 
the  result  in  his  case  was,  that,  by  dint  of  his  own 
mind,  he  carried  him  triumphantly  over  the  gap 
which  lies  between  2.40  and  2.18." 

"Dan  Mace,"  said  Woodruff  himself,  speaking  of 
another  famous  reinsman,  now  dead,  "is  very  reso- 
lute,  and  the  horses  that  he  handles  know  it." 

To  drive  a  trotter  with  art  is,  first,  to  get  from 
him  the  highest  speed  of  which  he  is  capable; 
secondly,  to  keep  him  from  making  a  break;  and, 
thirdly,  to  bring  him  back  to  the  trot  with  as  little 
loss  as  possible  after  a  break  has  actually  occurred. 
To  do  this  well  requires  a  light  and  "sensational" 
hand,  a  sympathetic  intelligence,  and  a  vast  deal  of 
practice.  The  break  is  prevented,  sometimes  by 
restraining  the  animal  with  voice  and  rein,  when  it 
is  simply  a  case  of  too  much  eagerness,  but  more 
often  by  moving  the  bit  in  his  mouth.  If  the  break 
happens,  the  horse  "leaving  his  feet,"  as  the  phrase 


TROTTING   RACES.  95 

is,  and  going  to  a  gallop  or  a  ran,  he  must  be 
"caught"  by  pulling  his  head  to  one  side,  so  that  he 
will  have  to  come  back  to  a  trot  in  order  to  keep  his 
balance ;  and  in  extreme  cases  it  will  be  necessary  to 
pull  him  lirst  this  way,  and  then  that.  The  break 
does  not  come  without  premonitory  signals;  there 
is  a  sort  of  general  unsteadiness  of  the  horse's  gait, 
when  the  change  is  in  contemplation,  and  at  the  last 
moment  he  moves  his  ears  backward.  "  The  sign  of 
a  coming  break,"  says  Hiram  Woodruff,  that  excel- 
lent writer  from  whom  I  have  quoted  so  much  al- 
ready, "  will  be  discovered  by  watching  the  head  and 
ears  of  the  horse.  The  attention  of  the  driver  ought 
always  to  be  fixed  upon  the  head  of  his  horse.  Many 
a  heat  is  lost  by  neglect  of  this  matter.  A  driver  is 
seen  coming  up  the  home  stretch  a  length  or  a  length 
and  a  half  ahead.  Both  the  horses  are  tired,  but 
the  leading  one  could  win.  The  driver,  however, 
when  he  gets  where  the  carriages  are,  turns  his  head 
to  look  at  the  ladies,  or  to  see  whether  they  are 
looking  at  him.  Just  then  the  horse  gives  a  twitch 
with  his  ears;  the  driver  does  n't  see  it;  up  flies  the 
trotter,  and  the  ugly  man  behind  holds  his  horse 
square,   and  wins  by  a  neck." 

Of  all  muscular  pleasures,  there  is  none,  perhaps, 
more  fine  and  delicate  than  this  of  the  skilful  reins- 
man.  Whirled  along  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in  two 
minutes  and  a  half,  he  keeps  his  trotter  steady  by  a 
slight  turn  of  the  wrist,  thus  moving  the  bit  in  the 
animal's  responsive  mouth,  and  so  distracting  his 
attention  and  jogging  his  memory.  If  there  is  any 
parallel  to  this  exercise,  it  will  probably  be  found 
in   those   clever   manipulations  of  rod  and   line   by 


96  ROAD,   TRACK,   AND   STABLE. 

means  of  which  an  angler  transfers  the  shy  but  gamy- 
trout  from  water  to  land.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to 
mount  a  sulky  in  order  to  experience  these  delights. 
Mr.  Yanderbilt  drove  Maud  S.  and  Aldine,  harnessed 
to  his  road  wagon,  a  mile  in  2.15^;  at  Cleveland, 
some  years  ago,  a  four-in-hand  accomplished  the 
same  distance  in  2.40;  and  a  moderately  fast  horse, 
a  moderately  light  wagon,  and  a  smooth  road  supply 
all  the  necessary  conditions  for  artistic  driving. 

There  is  another  function  of  the  bit  scarcely  less 
important,  and  that  is  to  encourage  and  restore  a 
tired  horse.  When,  at  the  end  of  a  stoutly  contested 
heat,  two  trotters  are  struggling  for  supremacy,  they 
can  be  urged  by  the  voice,  reinforced  either  by  the 
whip  or  by  the  bit.  A  coarsely  bred,  sluggish  animal 
may,  at  this  critical  moment,  require  the  lash,  but  its 
application  to  a  beast  of  any  spirit  is  almost  sure  to 
disgust  and  dishearten  him.  In  some  subtle  way, 
however,  when  the  driver  moves  the  bit  to  and  fro 
in  the  horse's  mouth,  the  effect  is  to  enliven  and  stim- 
ulate him,  as  if  something  of  the  jockey's  spirit  were 
thus  conveyed  to  his  mind.  If  this  motion  be  per- 
formed with  an  exaggerated  movement  of  the  arm.  it 
is  called  "reefing,"  and  it  sometimes  appears,  when 
it  is  "neck  or  nothing,"  at  the  end  of  a  heat,  as  if 
the  driver  were  actually  "sawing"  the  horse's  mouth, 
whereas  in  reality,  he  is  only  giving  the  bit  a  loose 
but  vigorous  motion  therein. 

At  this  point,  it  might  not  be  amiss  to  state  the 
conditions  of  a  trotting  race,  for  it  is  highly  probable 
that  to  some  of  my  readers  the  following  explanation 
will  not  be  superfluous. 

The  race  is  over  a  mile  track,   almost  elliptical  in 


TROTTING    RACES.  97 

shape,  and  the  judges  are  perched  in  a  two-story 
balcony  close  to  the  track,  and  near  one  extrem- 
ity of  the  ellipse,  so  that  at  the  end  of  a  heat  the 
horses  have  a  long,  straight  stretch  before  reach- 
ing the  goal.  Across  the  track  from  the  judges' 
stand,  and  high  enough  to  clear  the  trotters'  heads, 
is  stretched  a  wire,  by  the  aid  of  which,  in  a  very 
close  finish,  the  judges  can  determine  which  horse 
has  won.  The  race  is  usually  "  best  three  in  five  " ; 
that  is,  in  order  to  win,  a  horse  must  come  in  first 
three  times,  not  necessarily  in  succession.  Thus  it 
will  be  seen,  if  there  are  many  contestants  in  the 
race,  it  may  be  prolonged  to  seven,  eight,  and  even 
ten  heats,  before  any  one  trotter  has  secured  three. 
But  if  a  horse  has  taken  part  in  five  1  heats  without 
winning  a  single  one,  he  is  ruled  out,  or  "  sent  to  the 
barn,"  as  the  expression  is,  and  cannot  start  again. 
So,  also,  he  may  be  ruled  out  if  at  the  close  of  a  heat 
he  is  very  far  behind  the  winning  horse.  At  a  point 
in  the  home  stretch  one  hundred  feet  from  the  judges' 
stand,  (one  hundred  and  fifty,  if  eight  or  more  horses 
are  ensrasred  in  the  race.^i  a  man  is  stationed  with  a 
flag  in  his  hand,  which  he  drops  when  the  winner 
reaches  the  wire;  and  if  any  lagging  horse  has  not 
passed  him  when  his  flag  falls,  that  horse  is  "dis- 
tanced." and  cannot  start  again.  It  is  possible  for  a 
driver  to  "lay  up"  a  heat,  as  it  is  called;  that  is,  if 
his  horse  be  tired,  or  for  any  other  cause,  he  may 
content  himself  for  that  heat  with  just  "saving  his 
distance,"  making  no  effort  to  win.  The  start  is  a 
flying  one.  When  the  judges  ring  their  bell,  the 
drivers  turn  about  at  or  near  the  distance  point,  and 

1  A  recent  rule  makes  this  limit  three  heats  instead  of  five. 


98  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

come  down  past  the  judges'  stand  almost  or  quite  at 
full  speed.  If,  when  they  pass  under  the  wire,  they 
are  upon  fairly  even  terms,  the  starter  (one  of  the 
judges)  cries  out,  "  Go !  "  and  on  they  rush.  If, 
however,  the  start  would  not  be  a  fair  one,  the  bell 
is  rung  as  a  signal  that  the  drivers  must  come  back 
aud  try  again!  Sometimes  the  scoring,  as  these 
attempts  are  called,  is  prolonged  for  a  long  while; 
but  the  judges  are  authorized  to  fine  any  driver  who 
comes  down  ahead  of  or  behind  the  "pole"  horse; 
that  is,  the  horse  who  has  the  inside  position,  or 
that  nearest  the  poles  which  mark  the  quarter,  the 
half,  and  the  three-quarter  mile  points.  All  the 
positions  are  assigned  by  lot.  The  attempt  is  occa- 
sionally made  by  a  combination  of  drivers  to  tire  out 
or  excite  some  particular  horse  by  unnecessary  scor- 
ing, and  in  former  years  this  nefarious  plan  was 
often  practised  successfully,  but  of  late  the  rules  are 
enforced  with  more  strictness.  Even  with  the  best 
intentions  on  the  part  of  all  the  drivers  concerned, 
it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  get  a  fair  start,  especially 
if  the  horses  are  young  or  badly  behaved,  and  the 
scoring  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  a  great  drawback 
to  the  pleasures  of  a  trotting  race.  These  false 
starts,  however,  afford  a  most  interesting  exhibition 
of  horses  and  men ;  the  spectator  has  such  an  oppor- 
tunity as  he  could  not  otherwise  enjoy  to  study  the 
gaits  of  the  various  trotters,  to  note  how  well  or  ill 
they  "catch,"  and  to  observe  the  skill,  temper,  and 
courage  of  the  jockeys.  There  is  a  great  difference 
in  the  behavior  of  the  different  horses.  Some  pull 
and  tug  on  the  bit,  despite  the  signal  to  return,  car- 
rying  their   drivers  down    to   the   first  turn    in   the 


TROTTING   RACES.  99 

track  before  tliey  can  be  stopped;  whereas  others, 
old  campaigners  as  a  rule,  will  slacken  speed  at 
once  when  they  hear  the  bell,  stop,  and  turn  around 
of  their  own  accord. 

Goldsmith  Maid,  a  mare  whose  natural  cleverness 
enabled  her  to  profit  by  a  long  and  varied  experience, 
showed  wonderful  intelligence  in  scoring.  When 
turned  about  to  come  down  for  the  start,  she  would 
measure  with  her  eye  the  distance  between  herself 
and  the  other  horses;  and  if  it  seemed  to  her  that 
they  were  likely  to  get  first  to  the  judges'  stand,  she 
would  refuse  to  put  forth  her  best  speed,  despite  the 
efforts  of  her  driver.  The  result  in  such  cases  was, 
of  course,  as  she  foresaw,  that  the  judges,  perceiving 
that  the  start  would  be  an  unfair  one,  rang  the  recall 
bell.  "On  the  contrary,"  says  Mr.  Doble,  "if  she 
had  a  good  chance  to  beat  the  other  horses  in  scoring, 
she  would  go  along  gradually  with  them  until  pretty 
close  to  the  wire,  and  then  of  her  own  accord  come 
with  a  terrible  rush  of  speed,  so  that  when  the  word 
was  given  she  would  almost  invariably  be  going  at 
the  best  rate  of  any  horse  in  the  party.  ...  If  she 
had  the  pole,  she  would  make  it  a  point  to  see  that 
no  horse  beat  her  around  the  first  turn,  seeming  to  be 
perfectly  well  aware  that  the  animal  that  trotted  on 
the  outside  had  a  good  deal  the  worst  of  it." 

Close  to  the  fence,  but  inside  of  it  on  the  track, 
opposite  the  judges'  stand  or  thereabout,  there  is 
always  a  motley  group  of  "rubbers"  or  grooms,  and 
helpers,  with  pails  of  water  and  sponges  in  their 
hands,  and  blankets,  thick  or  thin  according  to  the 
weather,  thrown  over  their  shoulders,  or  deposited 
conveniently   on   the   fence.     Here,   very  often,   the 


100         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

driver  pulls  up  for  a  moment,  on  his  way  back  to 
the  starting  point  alter  the  bell  has  rung  for  a  re- 
call, while  the  groom  hastily  sponges  out  the  horse's 
mouth  and  nostrils,  adjusts  the  check-rein,  takes  up 
a  hole  in  the  breeching,  or  makes  some  other  slight 
change  in  the  harness. 

These  are  tense  moments  in  an  important  race, 
especially  if  the  contestants  are  known  to  be  evenly 
matched,  and  if  each  driver  is  anxious  that  the  oth- 
ers shall  take  no  advantage  of  him.  At  such  times 
a  reputation  for  courage  is  of  some  service;  it  is 
always  a  temptation  for  one  jockey  to  "cut  out" 
another,  or  unfairly  drive  in  to  the  "pole"  ahead  of 
him,  just  as  one  boat  in  a  rowing  race  may  take 
another  boat's  water.  Under  these  circumstances,  it 
is  the  right  of  the  driver,  whose  territory  is  invaded 
to  keep  on,  even  though  a  collision  may  result  ;  and 
a  resolute  man  will  do  so,  undeterred  bv  the  fact 
that  spokes  are  flying  from  the  wheel  of  his  own  or 
of  his  adversary's  sulky,  as  the  two  gossamer  vehicles 
come  together.  "The  quarter  stretch  looked  more 
like  a  toothpick  factory  than  a  race-course,"  was  face- 
tiously remarked  of  one  occasion,  when  the  driving 
had  been  reckless. 

With  this  explanation,  I  shall  venture  to  give  a 
short  account  of  a  notable  race  which  occurred  at 
Cleveland,  in  July,  1876,  between  the  famous  horses 
Smuggler  and  Goldsmith  Maid.  The  latter  was  at 
this  time  nineteen  years  old,  but  she  was  thought  to 
be  invincible,  and  in  this  very  year  she  repeated  her 
best  record,  2.14,  first  made  by  her  in  1874.  The 
Maid  was,  as  we  have  seen,  the  fastest  trotter  from 
the   time  of   Dexter,  who  achieved   2.17^   in    1867, 


TROTTING    RACES.  101 

to  that  of  Rarus,  who  in  1S7S  covered  a  mile  in 
2.13{.  A  slight  sketch  of  Goldsmith  Maid  was 
given  in  a  former  chapter,  and  I  have  stated  already 
in  the  present  chapter  the  chief  characteristics  of 
Smuggler. 

There  were  three  other  fast  horses  in  the  race, 
Lucille  Golddust,  Bodine,  and  Judge  Fullerton;  but 
none  of  them,  excepting  perhaps  Lucille  Golddust, 
played  a  part  of  any  importance.  Goldsmith  Maid 
was  driven  by  Budd  Doble,  a  young  man  whom 
Hiram  Woodruff  picked  out  to  succeed  himself  in  the 
charge  of  Dexter,  and  who  has  since  amply  justified 
the  selection  by  intelligent  training  and  skilful  driv- 
ing of  many  celebrated  horses.  He  is,  moreover,  one 
of  the  few  jockeys  whose  reputations  are  without 
flaw.  Charles  Marvin,  who  also  ranks  high  in  the 
craft,  sat  in  the  sulky  of  Smuggler.  But  the  judges 
are  ringing  their  bell,  the  horses  have  been  "warmed 
up,"  the  rubbers  are  gathered  at  the  wire,  a  hush  has 
fallen  upon  the  vast  throng  of  spectators,  anticipa- 
tion is  on  tiptoe,  and  it  is  time  for  the 

First  Heat.  At  the  third  trial,  the  horses  re- 
ceived a  fair  start,  and  Goldsmith  Maid,  pursuing 
her  usual  tactics,  made  a  rush  for  the  lead,  and 
secured  it.  The  first  half-mile  was  trotted  very  fast, 
and  for  the  first  quarter  Bodine  was  second  and 
Smuggler  third.  Smuggler,  however,  went  by  Bo- 
dine in  the  second  quarter,  and  soon  after  the  half- 
mile  pole  was  passed  he  came  very  close  to  the  Maid, 
but  at  this  point  he  faltered  a  little.  The  cause  was 
not  known  at  first  to  the  spectators,  but  after  the 
heat  a  mounted  patrol  judge  galloped  in  with  a  shoe 
which   Smuggler  had  cast   from   his   near  fore  foot. 


102         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

Despite  this  accident, —  and  its  importance  may  be 
estimated  from  the  fact  that  his  fore  shoes  weighed 
two  pounds  each, —  Smuggler  came  down  the  home. 
stretch  with  tremendous  speed,  pushing  the  Maid 
hard;  and  when  she  swept  under  the  wire  in  2.15^, 
his  nose  was  on  a  level  with  her  tail.  This  was  a 
great  heat,  and  Smuggler  would  probably  have  won 
it  had  he  not  cast  a  shoe. 

Second  Heat.  There  was  some  trouble  in  scoring, 
for  Smuggler  broke  badly,  but  on  the  fourth  attempt 
they  were  sent  off,  Goldsmith  Maid  being  a  little 
ahead  of  the  others.  In  going  around  the  first  turn 
Smuggler  made  one  of  his  characteristic  breaks,  and 
had  to  be  pulled  almost  to  a  standstill  before  he 
regained  a  trot.  His  driver  therefore  contented  him- 
self with  just  saving  his  distance.  But  the  Maid  was 
given  no  rest,  for  Lucille  Golddust  was  close  upon 
her  heels,  forcing  the  Queen  of  the  Turf  to  trot  the 
mile  in  2.17J.  These  two  fast  heats  distressed 
Goldsmith  Maid,  but  those  who  had  backed  her 
were  still  confident,  relying  upon  the  great  speed 
and  steadiness  of  the  old  mare  to  pull  her  through. 

Third  Heat.  The  Maid,  having  won  the  preceding 
heat,  had  the  inside  position,  and  kept  it,  although 
she  broke  at  the  first  turn;  but  her  breaks  were  not 
like  those  of  Smuggler.  To  the  half-mile  pole  she 
led,  with  Fullerton  second,  Lucille  Golddust  third, 
and  Smuggler  fourth.  But  after  this  point  had  been 
reached,  Marvin  called  upon  Smuggler  for  an  effort. 
The  horse  answered  gamely;  he  passed  Lucille  Gold- 
dust,  then  Fullerton,  and  when  Goldsmith  Ala  id 
turned  into  the  home  stretch  Smuggler  was  close 
behind    her.     The   race    was    extremely    close     from 


TROTTING    RACES.  103 

this  point;  but  Smuggler  gained  on  the  Maid  inch 
by  inch,  and  finally  dashed  under  the  wire,  three 
quarters  of  a  length  in  advance,  amid  tumultous  ap- 
plause. Time,  2.16J.  "The  scene  which  followed," 
says  a  contemporary  and  graphic  report  in  the 
Turf,  Field,  and  Farm,  "  is  indescribable  An  elec- 
trical wave  swept  over  the  vast  assembly,  and  men 
swung  their  hats  and  shouted  themselves  hoarse, 
while  the  ladies  snapped  fans  and  parasols  and 
burst  their  kid  gloves  in  an  endeavor  to  get  rid  of 
the  storm  of  emotion.  The  police  vainly  tried  to 
keep  the  quarter  stretch  clear.  The  multitude  poured 
through  the  gates,  and  Smuggler  returned  to  the 
stand  through  a  narrow  lane  of  humanity,  which 
closed  as  he  advanced.  Doble  was  ashy  pale,  and 
the  grand  mare  who  had  scored  so  many  victories 
stood  with  trembling  flanks  and  head  down.  Her 
attitude  seemed  to  say,  {I  have  done  my  best,  but 
am  forced  to  resign  the  crown.'" 

"During  the  intermission,"  according  to  the  same 
account,  "the  stallion  was  the  object  of  the  greatest 
scrutiny.  So  great  was  the  press  that  it  was  difficult 
to  obtain  breathing-room  for  him.  He  appeared  fresh, 
and  ate  eagerly  of  the  small  bunch  of  hay  which  was 
presented  to  him  by  his  trainer  after  he  had  cooled 
off.  It  was  manifest  that  the  fast  work  had  not  de- 
stroyed his  appetite.  The  betting  now  changed,  for 
it  was  seen  that  the  Maid  was  tired." 

The  race,  however,  was  not  over  yet.  Smuggler 
had  two  heats  to  win  before  victory  would  be  his, 
whereas  Goldsmith  Maid  needed  only  one  more.  She 
was  leg- weary,  to  be  sure,  but  then  she  could  be 
counted  on  to  make  a  humanly  sagacious  use  of  her 


104         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

opportunities,  and  a  single  bad  break  would  cause 
Smuggler's  defeat.  Excitement  subdued  the  specta- 
tors to  perfect  stillness,  and  not  a  sound  was  heard 
except  the  rhythmical  tramp  of  the  five  horses,  as 
they  thundered  down  the  stretch  to  the  wire  for 
the 

Fourth  Heat.  At  the  second  attempt  the  judges 
gave  the  word  "  Go"  as  Smuggler  was  trotting  stead- 
ily, although  somewhat  behind  the  others.  The 
Maid,  as  usual,  rushed  off  with  the  lead,  and  Lucille 
Golddust  took  the  second  place,  being  pulled  out  a 
little,  so  as  to  bring  her  near  the  centre  of  the  track. 
This  left  Marvin  in  a  very  bad  position,  technically 
known  as  a  "pocket."  He  could  not  slip  in  be- 
tween the  other  two  horses,  for  Doble  kept  the  Maid 
back  just  far  enough  to  prevent  such  a  move;  and 
if  he  should  check  his  own  horse  sufficiently  to  get 
past  Lucille  Golddust,  much  distance  would  be  lost. 
What  he  did  was  to  remain  in  this  helpless  situation 
until  the  home  stretch  was  reached,  thinking  that 
the  driver  of  Golddust  would  finally  get  out  of  his 
way;  but  this  did  not  happen,  and  when  Smuggler 
was  onl}'  three  hundred  yards  from  the  wire,  when 
Goldsmith  Maid  had  a  long  lead,  when  "a  smile  of 
triumph  lighted  Doble's  face,  and  the  crowd  settled 
sullenly  down  to  the  belief  that  the  race  was  over," 
then  at  last  the  driver  of  Smuggler  pulled  him  back 
and  turned  to  the  right,  so  as  to  get  out  of  the 
pocket,  and  made  desperate  play  for  the  heat.  Con- 
trary to  what  every  one  expected,  the  horse  did  not 
break,  despite  this  interference  with  his  stride,  but, 
keeping  level  and  steady,  came  down  the  course, 
when   he    saw   the    way    clear    before   him,    with   a 


TROTTING    RACE>.  105 

burst  of  speed  which  will  always  be  famous  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  American  turf.  His  ears  were  laid 
Mat  on  his  head,  his  neck  was  stretched  out  low  and 
long,  so  as  to  bring  his  head  scarcely  above  the  level 
of  his  withers,   and  fire  flashed  in  his  eye. 

"He  trotted,"  writes  Mr.  Helm,  who  was  among 
the  spectators,  "with  a  grim  desperation,  that  can- 
not readily  be  forgotten  by  the  thousands  who  were 
present.  His  fleet-footed  and  never  faltering  oppo- 
nent, the  victor  in  a  hundred  trials,  the  Queen  of 
2.14,  was  already  thirty -five  feet  ahead  of  him. 
With  a  gathering  of  resources  never  perhaps  held 
by  any  other,  and  a  rate  of  speed  never  equalled  on 
the  trotting  turf,  he  made  for  the  front.  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  I  think,  that  he  moved  for  six  or  eight 
hundred  feet  at  the  rate  of  a  two-minute  gait.  He 
trotted  then  as  if  he  knew  he  could  and  would  win 
the  heat;  and  in  his  very  eye  there  was  the  look  of 
win  it,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  Woe  to  the  animal 
or  vehicle  that  should  come  between  him  and  the 
end  of  that  race  !  His  speed  was  terrific,  his  mo- 
mentum was  fearful,  and  his  stroke  as  steadv  and 
true  as  any  ever  beheld.  His  very  appearance  was 
a  sort  of  magnetism  that  electrified  the  thousands 
that  were  present." 

" It  was  more  like  flying  than  trotting,"  says  the 
report  from  which  I  first  quoted.  "Doble  hurries 
his  mare  into  a  break,  but  he  cannot  stop  the  dark 
shadow  which  flits  by  him.  His  smile  of  triumph 
is  turned  into  an  expression  of  despair.  Smuggler 
goes  over  the  score  a  winner  of  the  heat  by  a  neck, 
and  the  roar  which  comes  from  the  grand  stand  and 
the    quarter   stretch    is   deafening.      The   time    was 


106         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

2. 19 J.  Smuggler  again  cooled  oft"  well,  nibbling 
eagerly  at  bis  bunch  of  hay.  The  Maid  was  more 
tired  than  ever,  while  Lucille  Golddust  showed  no 
signs  of  distress." 

Even  yet,  however,  the    race  was  in  doubt. 

Fifth  Heat.  It  was  evident  that  the  other  horses, 
or  rather  their  drivers,  had  formed  a  combinatiou 
against  Smuggler.  They  worried  him  so  much  in 
scoring  that  twice  again  he  pulled  off  the  shoe  from 
his  near  fore  foot,  and  nearly  an  hour  elapsed  before 
a  start  was  obtained.  "The  shell  of  the  foot,"  re- 
lates the  excellent  writer  in  the  Turf,  Field,  and 
Farm,  "was  pretty  badly  splintered  by  the  triple 
accident,  but  the  stallion  was  not  rendered  lame. 
Misfortunes,  however,  seemed  to  be  gathering 
thickly  about  him,  and  the  partisans  of  the  Maid 
wore  the  old  jaunt}'  air  of  confidence."  The  other 
horses  had  an  unbroken  rest  while  Smuggler  was 
shoeing,  so  that  they  all  appeared  fresh  when  the 
word  was  finally  given.  "Fullerton,"  says  the 
Turf,  Field,  and  Farm,  "went  to  the  front  like  a 
flash  of  light,  trotting  without  a  skip  to  the  quarter 
pole  in  thirty -three  seconds,"  but  Smuggler  passed 
him  near  the  half-mile  pole,  kept  the  lead  from  that 
point,  and  won  the  race,  although  Goldsmith  Maid 
came  along  with  great  speed  on  the  home  stretch, 
forcing  Smuggler  to  trot  the  heat  in  2.17J,  and 
finishing  a  good  second. 

Thus  ended  what  was  perhaps,  all  things  consid- 
ered, the  best  race  ever  trotted.  Here  were  five 
heats  in  2.151  2.17J,  2.16J,  2.19f,  2.171,  each  one 
being  gallantly  contested,  and  the  result  remaining 
in  the  utmost  doubt  till  the  very  close  of  the  fifth 


TROTTING    RACES.  107 

heat.  "The  evening  shadows  had  now  thickened, 
and,  as  the  great  crowd  had  shouted  itself  weak  and 
hoarse,  it  passed  slowly  through  the  gates,  and  drove 
in  a  subdued  manner  home." 

There  is  one  other  race  of  which  I  cannot  forbear 
giving  a  brief  account,  because  the  winner  displayed 
the  same  admirable  qualities  as  Smuggler,  and  tri- 
umphed where  his  defeat  was  supposed  to  be  inev- 
itable. There  were  eight  contestants,  but  the  real 
competitors  were  three,  namely,  Nobby,  Felix,  and 
Florence. 

Xobby  was  a  very  peculiar  horse:  a  dark  bay 
gelding,  with  a  long  neck  and  body,  a  fine  head,  and 
altogether  a  thoroughbred  and  even  greyhound  appear- 
ance. His  gait  was  long,  low,  and  smooth.  He  was 
however  a  wild  breaker,  and  extremely  nervous.  "  The 
twitter  of  a  canary  bird  on  a  limb,"  said  John  Splan, 
his  driver,  "  would  have  more  effect  on  Xobby  than 
a  full  brass  band  on  an  ordinary  horse."  Both  his 
mouth  and  feet  were  in  bad  condition,  but  Splan. 
who  took  the  horse  for  the  first  time  on  the  day  of 
the  race,  poulticed  his  feet,  and  relieved  his  mouth 
by  driving  him  with  an  easy  bit  and  nose-band  at- 
tachment. He  also  stuffed  the  horse's  ears  with 
cotton,  so  that  he  should  not  be  scared  or  worried  to 
a  break  by  the  shouting  and  whipping  of  the  other 
drivers.  ''Xobby,"  said  the  contemporary  report  in 
the  Spirit  of  the  Times,  "  impresses  you  with  the 
idea  that  he  is  constantly  trying  to  lose  the  race  by 
making  a  mistake.  Splan  drove  him  as  carefully  as 
if  he  were  handling  eggs."  Felix  was  a  bay  gelding, 
and  a  horse  of  speed. —  much  speedier,  in  fact,  than 
Xobby;  but,  as  a  reporter  of  the  race  remarked,  "he 


108  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

Las  a  soft  spot  in  him  somewhere  when  pinched." 
Florence  was  a  beautiful  mare,  also  fast,  and  a  good 
"breaker.  All  three,  it  should  be  mentioned,  were 
driven  by  masters  of  the  art. 

The  first  heat  was  won  by  Florence  after  a  sharp 
contest  with  Felix,  Xobby  making  no  effort.  In  the 
second  heat  Xobby  outstripped  the  others  on  the  home 
stretch,  but  made  a  wild  break,  passing  under  the 
wire  on  a  run,  and  Florence  was  awarded  first  place. 
In  the  third  heat  Xobby  again  broke  badly,  and  Felix 
won  after  another  hard  contest  with  Florence.  In 
the  fourth  heat  Xobby  showed  his  quality.  At  the 
three-quarter  pole  Felix  led  him  by  four  lengths,  but 
from  this  point  Xobby  began  to  gain  inch  by  inch, 
Splan  driving  him  with  great  patience  and  skill. 
His  long  neck  showed  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  sulky 
of  Felix,  as  the  two  horses  approached  the  judge's 
stand,  until  at  last  they  were  side  by  side.  Then 
Felix  seemed  to  fall  back,  and  Xobby  won  amid  wrild 
hurrahs.  "I  have  seen  his  sire  do  the  same  thing  in 
California,"  said  a  noted  horseman  who  was  among 
the  spectators.  In  the  fifth  heat,  however,  Xobby 
made  another  disastrous  break,  and  Felix  won  easily. 
Five  heats  had  now  been  trotted,  and  the  coming 
heat  would  decide  the  race  if  it  fell  either  to  Felix 
or  to  Florence.  Xobby,  so  far,  had  only  one  to 
his  credit.     This  brings  us  to  the 

Sixth  Heat.  It  had  begun  to  rain  a  little:  the 
track  was  sticky,  and  all  the  horses  were  tired. 
'; Their  courage,"  says  the  report,  "was  cheered  by 
sherry."  It  is  more  likely,  however,  that  Xobby  was 
treated  to  champagne  and  seltzer  water,  that  being 
the  agreeable    dose   usually   administered    by    Splan 


TROTTING    RACES.  109 

under  similar  circumstances.  Only  the  winners  of 
heats,  Felix,  Florence,  and  Nobby  were  allowed  to 
start ;  the  -others,  who  had  not  secured  a  single  one 
out  of  the  five  heats  that  had  been  trotted,  being- 
'"sent  to  the  barn,"  in  accordance  with  a  rule  already 
stated.  The  pools  sold  fast  and  furious  on  Felix 
against  the  field,  twenty-five  dollars  to  six,  for  wh;it 
slight  chance  Nobby  ever  had  was  thought  to  be 
gone. 

Now  came  one  of  the  most  stubbornly  contested 
heats  ever  seen  on  a  trotting  course.  At  the  start 
Felix  showed  much  more  speed  than  the  others,  and 
was  a  length  ahead  at  the  quarter  pole,  with  Florence 
second,  and  Nobby  trotting  steadily  in  the  rear.  At 
the  half-mile  pole  Felix  had  gained  three  lengths 
more,  and  looked,  as  the  sporting  phrase  is,  a  sure 
winner.  Soon  after  this  point  was  passed  Florence 
gave  place  to  Nobby,  and  "now,"  said  the  Spirit  of 
the  Times,  "  Splan  began  to  show  his  tactics,  'wait 
and  win.'  His  gain  to  the  three-quarter  pole  was 
almost  imperceptible,  and  Felix  still  kept  a  long 
lead;  but  from  this  point  Splan  began  to  use  every 
particle  of  speed  that  was  in  his  horse.  When  they 
turned  into  the  home  stretch  Felix  was  swung  out  to 
the  middle  of  the  track,  where  the  footing  was  better 
but  Nobby  was  driven  close  to  the  pole.  'I  can't 
spTre  a  foot  of  distance,  was  my  thought,'  Splan 
afterwa rd   remarked . " 

"Nobby  gamely  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  task; 
a  stern  chase,  it  is  true,  but  gradually  he  lessened  the 
gap.  At  the  drawgates,  where  the  path  was  hard, 
he  wavered,  ns  if  about  to  break,  but  Splan  steadied 
him  with  a  slight  pull,  and  on  recovering  his   stride 


110  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

he  now  measured  the  distance  to  be  overcome. 
Slowly  but  surely  came  he  nearer  to  Felix;  within 
a  few  lengths  of  the  wire  the}"  were  almost  even. 
Just  at  the  last  moment  Splan  roused  Nobby  for  a 
final  effort,  and  landed  him  first  under  the  wire  by 
a  neck.     Time,  2.25." 

Seventh  Heat.  Twilight  was  coming  on  as  the 
tired  horses  scored  for  the  word.  At  the  third  trial 
they  received  a  fair  start.  Felix  broke  almost  im- 
mediately, and  lost  three  lengths,  but  Florence  gave 
Nobby  no  rest  so  long  as  her  wind  and  courage 
lasted.  She  hung  close  to  the  wheel  of  his  sulky 
until  they  had  got  midway  of  the  second  quarter, 
when  Nobby  began  to  draw  away  from  her.  At  this 
point  Felix  came  along,  and  the  driver  of  Florence, 
seeing  that  she  had  "shot  her  bolt,"  kindly  pulled 
her  out  from  the  pole  to  the  centre  of  the  track,  thus 
allowing  Felix  to  slip  into  her  place.  Florence  then 
dropped  behind,  but  Felix  continued  to  gain,  and 
at  the  half-mile  pole  he  was  trotting  neck  and  neck 
with  Nobby.  From  this  point,  as  before,  Felix  out- 
trotted  Nobby,  and  when  they  turned  into  the  home 
stretch  for  the  last  time  he  had  a  good  lead  of  three 
full  lengths.  Again  the  driver  of  Felix  brought 
him  out  to  the  centre  of  the  track,  and  again  Splan 
hugged  the  pole.  The  brush  clown  the  home  stretch 
was  an  exciting  one.  Felix  trotted  fast,  but  behind 
him  still  pegged  away  the  unconquerable  Nobby,  and 
the  distance  between  them  was  reduced  inch  by  inch, 
until  at  last  Splan  brought  his  horse  up  on  even  terms 
with  the  other.  They  were  now  but  a  few  yards 
from  the  goal.  Both  horses  were  exhausted,  and 
Nobby  could  not  be  aroused  by  the  voice,  for  his  ears 


TROTTING    RACES.  Ill 

were  stuffed  with  cotton.  Splan  took  "the  last, 
dying  chance,"  as  he  called  it.  Running  the  risk  of 
a  break,  which  would  have  been  fatal,  he  leaned 
forward  and  touched  Nobby  lightly  on  the  shoulder 
with  his  whip.  The  move  was  successful.  Nobby 
kept  steadily  to  a  trot,  but,  gamely  responding  to 
the  appeal,  made  one  final  effort,  and  fairly  staggered 
under  the  wire,  a  winner  by  a  head.1    Time,  2.28J. 

Thus  ended  a  memorable  contest.  It  was  won  by 
the  horse  who  proved  himself  the  slowest  trotter 
and  the  worst  breaker  of  the  three  competitors, — 
won  through  his  own  courage  and  endurance,  and 
through  the  skill  and  patience  of  his  driver.  "But 
who  cares  to  see  a  race  which  falls  to  the  slowest 
horse?  The  race  should  be  to  the  swift,"  is  a  com- 
ment that  might  perhaps  be  made.  Such  a  criticism 
would  be  founded  upon  a  false  notion  of  sport.  All 
sports  practised  for  the  amusement  of  a  spectator  are 
noble  according  as  victory  in  them  depends  upon  the 
exercise  of  moral  and  mental  qualities.  The  atten- 
tive reader  of  Boxiana  will  conclude  that,  taking  the 
history  of  the  ring  as  a  whole,  the  fight  was  usually 
won  by  the  man  who  had  determined  that  he  would 
not  be  beaten;  and  from  this  circumstance  alone  a 
very  fair  argument  might  be  made  —  how  nearly 
adequate  need  not  here  be  considered  —  in  support 
of  pugilism. 

In  trotting  races,  for  the  reasons  already  stated,  and 
as  is  apparent  from  the  illustrations  that  have  been 
given,  there  is  a  peculiar  opportunity  for  the  exercise 

1  Since  the  writing  of  this  chapter,  Nobby  has  been  sold  at 
auction.  He  brought  $2,000,  and  his  purchaser,  as  the  senti- 
mental reader  will  be  glad  to  learn,  was  John  Splan. 


112 


ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


of  admirable  qualities  on  the  part  of  both  horse  and 
man.  It  is  true,  that,  so  far  as  the  drivers  are  con- 
cerned, their  skill  is  often  prostituted  to  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  pool-box,  but  no  accusation  of  this  sort 
was  ever  brought  against  a  trotter.  The  breath  of 
suspicion  may  at  times  have  rested  upon  Splan.  but 
the  name  of  Xobby  is  untarnished.  In  the  two  con- 
tests just  described,  all  parties  to  the  fight  honestly 
exerted  the  qualifications  that  nature  and  experience 
had  given  them;  and  although  victory  perched  first 
here  and  then  there,  the  prize  finally  fell,  as  should 
be  the  case,  to  superior  courage,  endurance,  patience, 
and  skill. 


V. 


ROAD   HORSES. 


AMONG-  the  irregular  acquaintances  of  my  boy- 
hood, I  remember  a  certain  Ed  Hulbert,  who 
was  wont  to  express  his  notion  of  felicity  in  the  fol- 
lowing concise  and  oft-repeated  phrase :  "  A  smooth 
road  and  a  sharp  trot ! '  There  may  be  nobler  ideals  ; 
pursuits  might  perhaps  be  thought  of  which  combine 
pleasure  with  intellectual  improvement  to  a  greater 
degree ;  and  certainly  it  must  be  admitted  that  a 
young  or  even  a  middle-aged  man  should  always  be 
provided  with  an  excuse  for  driving  instead  of  riding, 
such  as  that  he  is  lame,  or  has  already  taken  an  equiva- 
lent amount  of  exercise  in  some  other  form,  or  desires 
to  be  accompanied  by  his  wife.  But,  these  difficulties 
surmounted,  (or  shall  we  say  disregarded?)  the  com- 
bination of  "a  smooth  road  and  a  sharp  trot"  will 

8 


114         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

supply  130  small  amusement.  Only  the  horse  lover, 
indeed,  can  enjoy  it  to  the  full,  —  subtly  communi- 
cating through  rein  and  bit  with  his  steed,  appre- 
ciating the  significant  play  of  his  ears,  and  rightly 
interpreting  that  lively,  measured  ring  of  his  feet  upon 
the  road  which  indicates  a  sound  and  active  stepper. 
But  there  are  some  incidental  delights,  such  as  the 
quick  conveyance  through  fresh  air  and  a  passing 
glimpse  of  the  scenery,  which  everybody  enjoys.  My 
old  acquaintance  would  have  thought  but  meanly  of 
the  man  who  gave  a  wish  to  view  the  country  as  his 
reason  for  driving ;  but  then  the  Ed  Hulbert  standard 
cannot  always  be  maintained,  and  something  must  be 
pardoned  to  the  weakness  of  human  nature. 

In  a  sense,  every  horse  driven  b}-  the  owner  for 
pleasure  is  a  road  horse.  The  fast  trotter  who  speeds 
up  and  down  the  Brighton  or  the  Harlem  road,  draw- 
ing a  single  man  in  a  gossamer  wagon ;  the  round, 
short-legged  cob;  the  big,  respectable,  phlegmatic 
Goddard-buggy  animal,  who  may  be  seen  in  Boston 
any  fine  afternoon  hauling  a  master  very  much  like 
himself  out  over  Beacon  Street;  the  pretty,  high- 
stepping  pair  in  front  of  a  mail  phaeton;  —  all  these 
are  road  horses,  but  none  of  them,  excepting  some- 
times the  trotter,  is  a  roadster  in  the  strict  sense. 
The  road  horse  par  excellence  is  a  beast  of  medium 
size,  who  can  draw  a  light  carriage  at  the  rate  of 
seven  miles  an  hour  all  day  without  tiring  himself  or 
his  driver.  He  should  be  able  to  travel  at  least  ten 
miles  in  an  hour,  twenty  miles  in  two  hours,  sixty 
miles  in  a  day ;  and  by  this  is  meant  that  he  should 
do  it  comfortably  and  "  handily,"  as  the  term  is,  and 
feel  none  the  worse  for  the  exertion.     Such  roadsters 


ROAD    HORSES.  115 

are  rare.  —  much  more  so  now,  in  proportion  to  the  to- 
tal number  of  our  horses,  than  they  were  twenty-five 
years  ago,  or  before  the  war ;  the  reason  being  that 
the  craze  for  fast  trotters  has  thrown  the  roadster  into 
the  shade.  Of  course,  almost  any  sound  horse  can  be 
urged  and  whipped  over  the  ground,  "  driven  off  his 
feed,*'  perhaps,  and  so  travel  these  distances  in  the 
time  mentioned.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  for 
some  broken-down  animal  to  be  pointed  out  by  his 
cruel  and  mendacious  master  as  one  for  whom  ten  or 
twelve  miles  an  hour  is  only  a  sort  of  exercising  gait ; 
the  poor  beast  having  very  likely  been  ruined  in  the 
effort  to  accomplish  some  such  feat  which  was  beyond 
his  capacity.  The  mere  fact  that  a  horse  has  gone  a 
long  way  in  a  short  time  tells  little  about  his  powers ; 
the  more  important  inquiry  is,  What  was  his  condi- 
tion afterward  ?  A  liveryman  in  Vermont  declared 
not  long  ago,  that  at  one  time  and  another  he  had  lost 
twelve  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  horseflesh  through 
the  ignorant  and  murderous  driving  of  customers 
who  had  endeavored  to  keep  up  with  a  certain  gray 
mare,  of  extraordinary  endurance,  that  was  owned  in 
his  vicinity  for  several  years. 

A  horse  that  will  step  off  cheerfully  and  readily 
eight  miles  an  hour,  a  pace  so  moderate  that  one  never 
sees  it  mentioned  in  an  advertisement,  is  much  better 
than  the  average ;  one  that  will  do  ten  miles  in  that 
time  and  in  the  same  way  is  an  exceptionally  good 
roadster;  and  the  horse  that  goes  twelve  miles  an 
hour  with  ease  is  extremely  rare.  A  stable-keeper  in 
Boston,  of  long  experience,  tells  me  that  he  has  known 
but  two  horses  that  would  travel  at  this  last-men- 
tioned rate  with  comfort  to  themselves  and  the  driver, 


116  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

though  he  has  seen  many  others,  pulling,  crazy  crea- 
tures, that  would  keep  up  a  pace  as  fast,  or  even 
faster,  till  they  dropped.  Of  these  two  pleasant 
roadsters,  capable  of  covering  twelve  miles  in  sixty 
minutes,  one  trotted  all  the  way,  up  and  down  hill, 
whereas  the  other  walked  up  the  steep  ascents,  and 
went  so  much  the  faster  where  the  grade  was  favor- 
able. The  latter  method  is  easier  and  better  for 
most  horses. 

The  capabilities  of  a  roadster  having  now  been  indi- 
cated in  a  general  way,  the  first  and  most  obvious  in- 
quiry is,  What  will  be  the  conformation  aud  appear- 
ance of  a  horse  likely  to  possess  them  ?  Upon  this 
subject  it  is  dangerous  to  dogmatize.  For  example,  a 
flat-sided,  thin-waisted  animal  is  apt  to  be  wanting  in 
endurance,  and  yet  there  have  been  some  notable  ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule.  A  leading  quality  of  the  road 
horse  is  shortness ;  that  is,  his  back  should  be  short, 
and,  it  may  be  added,  straight.  The  same  is  true  of 
his  legs,  especially  as  regards  the  cannon-bone.  A 
short  cannon-bone  is  perhaps  the  most  nearly  indispen- 
sable characteristic  of  a  roadster.  The  knees  should 
be  large,  the  hocks  well  let  down,  and  the  hind  quar- 
ters closely  coupled  to  the  back.  The  belly  should  be 
of  good  size,  and  round.  George  Borrow,  a  thorough 
horseman,  makes  the  old  hostler  in  "  Lavengro  "  say  : 
"  Never  buy  a  horse  at  any  price  that  has  not  plenty  of 
belly.  No  horse  that  has  not  plenty  of  belly  is  ever  a 
good  feeder,  and  a  horse  that  an't  a  good  feeder  can- 
not be  a  good  horse."  He  should  have  great  depth  of 
lung  and  a  moderately  broad  chest.  Good,  sound  feet 
of  medium  size,  and  pastern  joints  neither  straight 
nor  oblique,  are  essential.     It  is  no  harm  if  his  neck 


ROAD    HORSES.  117 

be  thick,  but  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  he  should 
have  a  tine  head  and  clear,  intelligent  eyes,  with  a 
good  space  between  and  above  them.  An  English 
authority  declares,  "  There  was  never  yet  a  first-class 
race  horse  that  had  a  mean  head,"  and  I  believe 
this  is  equally  true  of  roadsters.  The  ears  also 
are  an  important  point ;  they  should  be  set  neither 
close  together  nor  wide  apart,  and  it  is  of  the  utmost 
consequence  how  they  are  carried.  A  lively,  sensible 
horse,  one  who  has  the  true  roadster  disposition,  will 
continually  move  his  ears,  pointing  them  forward  and 
backward,  and  even  sideways,  thus  showing  that  he  is 
attentive  and  curious  as  to  what  takes  place  about 
him,  and  interested  to  observe  what  may  be  coming. 
A  beast  with  a  coarse  head,  narrow  forehead,  dull, 
timorous  eyes,  and  ears  that  tend  to  incline  away 
from  each  other  when  held  upright,  and  which  are 
apt  to  be  pointed  backward,  —  such  a  horse  is  one 
to  avoid  as  certainly  deficient  in  mind,  and  prob- 
ably in  courage  and  in  good  temper  as  well.  Many 
lazy,  sluggish  animals  of  this  sort  are  considered 
eminently  safe  for  women  to  drive ;  and  so  they  are 
until  the  harness  breaks  or  something  else  fright- 
ens them,  when  they  become  panic-stricken  and  tear 
everything  to  pieces.  On  the  other  hand,  a  high- 
strung  but  intelligent  horse  will  quickly  recover  from 
a  sudden  alarm,  when  he  finds  that  after  all  he  has 
not  been  hurt.  The  manner  rather  than  the  fact  of 
shying  is  the  thing  to  be  considered. 

When  we  come  to  inquire  how  good  roadsters  are 
bred,  the  answer  can  be  given  with  more  confidence, 
for  the  source  of  their  endurance  and  courage  is  always 
found  either  in  Arabian   or  in   thoroughbred   blood. 


118         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

These  two  terms  were  at  one  time  more  nearly  synony- 
mous than  they  are  now.  A  thoroughbred  (as  we  have 
seen,  and  as  the  instructed  reader  will  scorn  to  be 
told)  is  one  whose  pedigree  is  registered  in  the  English 
Stud  Book,  the  first  volume  of  which  was  published  in 
1808.  A  preliminary  volume,  called  "  An  Introduction 
to  a  General  Stud  Book,"  issued  in  1791,  contained 
the  names  of  the  chief  mares  and  stallions  of  racing 
stock  then  living.  These  are  the  "foundation"'  horses 
from  which  the  present  thoroughbreds,  English  and 
American,  have  sprung.  They  were  almost  entirely 
of  Oriental  descent.  Arabs  were  imported  to  Eng- 
land at  a  very  early  period,  but  not  in  such  numbers 
as  to  effect  any  decided  improvement  in  the  native 
breed  until  the  reign  of  James  I.  This  monarch  es- 
tablished a  racing  stable,  and  installed  therein  some 
fine  Arabian  stallions.  Charles  T.  continued  the  same 
policy,  and  the  royal  stud  which  he  left  at  Tutbury 
consisted  chiefly  of  Arab-bred  horses.  Soon  after  his 
execution,  it  was  seized  by  order  of  Parliament ;  but, 
happily,  the  change  in  dynasty  did  not  interfere  with 
the  conduct  of  the  stud.  Cromwell,  as  is  well  known, 
had  a  sharp  eye  for  a  horse,  and  the  best  of  the  King's 
lot  were  soon  "  chosen  "  for  the  Lord  Protector. 

Charles  II.,  again,  had  no  less  a  passion  for  horses, 
and  almost  the  first  order  that  he  issued,  after  land- 
ing in  England,  was  one  to  the  effect  that  the  Tutbury 
nags  should  be  returned  to  the  royal  stables.  This 
monarch  imported  some  Arabian  stallions,  and  a  col- 
lection of  mares  called  Royal  Mares,  purchased  on 
the  Continent.  Their  breeding  is  not  entirely  known, 
but  many  of  them  were  Arabs  or  Barbs.  The  Eoyal 
Mares  figure  in  the  first  volume   of  the  Stud  Book. 


ROAD    HORSES.  119 

31  any  private  breeders  also  added  to  the  Arabian  stuck 
in  England  ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  the  three  horses  were  1111- 
ported  who  have  exercised  the  greatest  influence  upon 
the  race  of  English  thoroughbreds.  These  were  the 
Byerly  Turk,  the  Darley  Arabian,  and  especially  the 
Godolphin  Arabian,  or  Barb,  —  probably  the  latter. 
The  last  named  was  a  dark  bay  horse  about  fifteen 
hands  high  (Arab  horses  seldom  exceed  14|  hands), 
with  a  white  off  heel  behind.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
stolen  from  his  owner  in  Paris,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  menial  task  of  drawing  a  water-cart,  and 
his  pedigree  was  never  ascertained.  It  is  the  fashion 
of  English  writers  to  decry  the  Arabian  blood;  and  it 
is  true  that  the  present  thoroughbred,  owing  to  many 
years  of  good  food  and  severe  training,  is  a  bigger, 
stronger,  swifter  animal  than  the  Arab ; 1  but  the 
latest  and  perhaps  the  highest  authority  on  this  sub- 
ject, William  Day,  makes  the  significant  admission, 
that  all  the  best  thoroughbreds  now  on  the  English 
turf  trace  back  to  one  or  more  of  the  three  Arab 
horses  whose  names  have  just  been  mentioned. 

The  chief  reason  wiry  a  good  roadster  must  have 

1  Some  years  ago,  Haleem  Paeha,  of  Egypt,  who  had  inherited 
from  his  father,  Abbass  Pacha,  a  stud  of  Arabs  estimated  to  have 
cost  about  35,000,000,  made  a  match  with  certain  merchants  at  Cairo 
to  run  an  eight-mile  race  for  £400  a  side  The  Cairo  merchants 
sent  to  England  and  bought  Fair  Nell,  an  Irish  mare,  thorough- 
bred, or  nearly  so,  that  had  been  used  bv  one  of  the  Tattersalls  as 
a  park  and  covert  hack.  She  was  a  beautiful  bright  bay  mare, 
with  black  legs,  standing  about  15  hands  1^  inches.  The  match 
took  place  within  two  weeks  after  Fair  Xell  landed  in  Egypt,  and 
she  won  with  ridiculous  ease,  beating  the  Pacha's  best  Arab  by  a 
full  mile.  She  did  the  eight  miles  in  18|  minutes,  and  palled  up 
fresh. 


120         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

thoroughbred  or  Arab  blood  in  his  veins  is,  that  from 
no  other  source  can  he  derive  the  necessary  nervous 
energy.  This  is  even  more  important  than  the  supe- 
rior bony  structure  of  the  thoroughbred  or  Arabian. 
Exactly  what  nervous  energy  is,  nobody,  I  presume, 
can  tell ;  but  it  is  something  that,  in  horses  at  least, 
develops  the  physical  system  early,  makes  it  capable 
of  great  exertion,  and  enables  it  to  recover  quickly 
from  fatigue.  The  same,  or,  more  correctly,  a  similar 
capacity,  is  remarked  in  mankind.  Headers  of  Arctic 
travels,  for  example,  must  often  have  been  struck  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  almost  invariably  the  men,  and  not 
the  officers,  who  succumb  to  the  labor  and  exposure 
of  a  sledge  journey.  Loosely  speaking,  it  may  be  that 
in  the  educated  man,  especially  in  the  man  whose 
ancestors  also  have  been  educated,  the  mind  has  ac- 
quired a  degree  of  control  over  the  body  which  can- 
not otherwise  be  attained.  So  also  with  horses.  A 
thoroughbred  is  one  whose  progenitors  for  many  gen- 
erations have  been  called  upon  to  exert  themselves  to 
the  utmost ;  they  have  run  hard  and  long,  and  strug- 
gled to  beat  their  competitors.  Moreover,  they  have 
had  an  abundance  of  the  food  best  adapted  to  develop 
bone  and  muscle.  Then,  again,  the  care,  the  groom- 
ing, the  warm  housing  and  blanketing,  which  they 
have  received,  tend  to  make  the  skin  delicate,  the 
hair  fine,  the  mane  silky,  the  whole  organization  more 
sensitive  to  impressions,  and  consequently  the  nervous 
system  more  active  and  controlling. 

This  same  nervous  energy  usually  prevents  the  road- 
ster from  being  what  is  known  as  a  family  horse,  for 
he  lacks  the  repose,  the  placidity  and  phlegm,  of  that 
useful  but  commonplace  animal ;  he  is  apt  to  jump 


ROAD    HORSES.  121 

like  a  cat,  and  to  dance  or  ran  a  little  now  and  then 
in  exuberance  of  spirits  and  superfluity  of  strength. 
Occasionally,  to  be  sure,  a  horse  is  found  who  has 
great  courage  and  endurance,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  perfectly  temperate  disposition.  Such  was  Justin 
Morgan,  head  of  the  great  roadster  family,  whose  ori- 
gin I  have  described  in  a  previous  chapter. 

If  the  partisans  of  this  family  are  not  quite  so 
fanatical  as  those  of  the  Arab,  it  is  because  they  are 
more  numerous  than  the  latter,  and  consequently  the 
less  driven  to  back  themselves  up  by  extravagant 
assertion.     But  they  are  not  wanting  in  enthusiasm.1 

As  to  Justin  Morgan,  the  immortal  soul,  his  history 
is  a  matter  of  profound  indifference.  Nobody  cares 
whether  his  mother  was  a  Jones  from  Connecticut,  or 
a  Smith  from  Massachusetts.  But  Justin  Morgan,  the 
little  bay  colt  which  the  schoolmaster  took  in  payment 
for  a  bad  debt,  has  kept  the  name  bright  for  more 
than  a  century.  This  is  sad  indeed,  and  yet  greater 
men  than  Justin  Morgan  have  suffered  a  similar  fate. 
How  many  horsemen  are  aware  that  Ethan  Allen  was 
preceded  by  a  biped  of  the  same  name,  a  brave  officer 
of  the  Revolution,  who  commanded  our  forces  at  the 
taking  of  Ticonderoga  ? 

The  case  of  General  Knox  is  even  worse.  He  was 
one  who  cut  a  wide  swath  in  his  day,  —  a  leader  in  the 
Revolution,  a  brave  soldier,  a  counsellor  much  relied 
upon  by  Washington,  a  man  of  wealth,  of  birth  and 

1  "  The  Perfect  Horse,"  a  work  by  the  Eev.  W.  H.  H.  Murray, 
is  devoted  to  the  praise  of  this  family.  A  good  illustrated  history 
of  Justin  Morgan  and  his  descendants,  by  Linsley,  is  now,  I  believe, 
out  of  print,  and  a  more  elaborate  account  of  the  family  is  in 
preparation  by  Mr.  Joseph  Battell,  of  Middlebury,  Vermont. 


122         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

breeding,  —  altogether,  a  personage  of  great  impor- 
tance. And  yet  not  long  ago,  when  a  certain  rustic 
youth  reared  in  Vermont  paid  his  first  visit  to  St. 
Albans  in  that  State,  in  company  with  his  mother, 
he  stood  aghast  before  a  bronze  statue  there  which 
represented  a  two-legged  animal,  clad  in  human  clothes, 
and  having  apparently  the  attributes  of  a  man.  Un- 
derneath in  large  letters  were  inscribed  the  words, 
"  General  Knox."  "  By  gosh,  mother,"  exclaimed  the 
astounded  youth,  "I  always  thought  General  Knox 
was  a  horse  !"  And  so  he  was,  and  a  very  good  one 
too,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  gait  of  the  Morgan  horse  is  highly  characteristic. 
Though  sure-footed,  he  is  apt  to  carry  his  fore  feet 
close  to  the  ground,  taking  short  elastic  steps,  which, 
even  when  quickened  to  a  rapid  trot,  seem  to  cost  him 
the  least  possible  effort.  There  is  no  swaying  of  the 
hips,  no  shaking  of  the  whole  frame,  no  pounding 
with  the  fore  feet  or  high  lifting  of  the  hocks,  but  a 
smooth,  easy,  gliding  motion.  The  Morgan  both  trots 
and  gallops  with  his  limbs  well  under  him. 

A  longer,  wider  gait  is  commonly  associated  with 
the  trotting  horse.  In  fact,  until  within  the  past  few 
years  it  was  thought  that  the  ideal  trotter  carried  his 
hind  feet  so  wide  as  to  plant  them  outside  of  the  track 
left  by  his  fore  feet.  Many,  perhaps  most,  fast  horses 
do  travel  in  this  way ;  but,  as  a  rule,  the  very  fastest 
step  no  wider  behind  than  in  front.  A  long  stride  is 
however  nearly,  if  not  quite,  essential  to  extreme 
speed;  and  many  Morgan  horses,  when  moving  at 
their  best  pace,  lengthen  their  gait  very  much,  and  go 
perceptibly  nearer  to  the  ground.  The  Morgan  action 
in  front  is,  as  a  rule,  not  big  enough  for  superlatively 


ROAD    HORSES.  123 

fast  trotting,  which  is  best  performed  by  a  peculiar 
and  very  graceful  round  motion  of  the  fore  legs.  Some 
fast  trotters  have  positively  high  action  in  front,  —  so 
high  as  to  seem  like  a  waste  of  power.  This  is  es- 
pecially true  of  Allerton,  a  Wilkes-Mambrino  Patchen 
stallion  whose  record  is  2.09J.  This  excessive  action 
is  also  found  in  some  Morgan  strains,  especially 
among  Sherman  Morgan's  descendants. 

Country  doctors  are  great  adherents  of  the  Morgan 
horse.  "  The  Morgan,"  writes  one  of  this  class,  "  will 
trot  all  day,  except  when  ascending  a  hill.  As  he  ap- 
proaches it,  he  will  raise  his  head  higher  and  higher. 
First,  one  pointed  ear,  then  the  other,  will  snap  back- 
ward, then  forward,  as  if  he  were  asking  permission 
to  gallop ;  and  then,  if  the  driver  does  not  object, 
he  will  lay  both  ears  flat  to  his  head  and  skim  the  rise 
like  a  bird,  always  striking  into  the  same  tireless 
trot  when  he   reaches  the  summit." 

It  was  from  a  country  doctor  —  and  I  trust  a  vera- 
cious one,  for  he  was  my  grandfather  —  that  I  heard, 
long  years  ago,  the  following  story.  He  was  driving 
late  one  very  dark  night  in  autumn  over  a  strange 
road.  A  violent  rain  had  fallen  during  the  preceding 
twenty-four  hours,  so  that  the  highway  was  badly 
washed.  Presently  his  horse,  a  Vermont  Morgan, 
made  a  leap,  and  crashed  through  what  seemed  to  be 
the  upper  branches  of  a  tree,  taking  the  gig  after  him 
very  neatly.  This  was  a  little  unusual,  but  still  no 
harm  had  been  done.  Half  a  mile  or  so  farther  on. 
the  horse  made  another  jump :  then  came  a  crash  and 
a  shiver  as  before,  and  the  gig  reeled  over  another 
tree,  as  it  appeared,  poised  for  a  moment  on  one 
wheel,  and  righted  itself  as  the  horse  resumed  his 
trot. 


124  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

By  this  time  the  Doctor  knew  that  he  must  be  near 
a  considerable   river,  with  high  banks,  which  flowed 
through   those    parts,    and    very    soon   he    heard   the 
waters   roaring   on   the   rocks    below.     But   now   his 
horse    came   to    a   dead   stop,   refusing   to   cross   the 
bridge.     The  Doctor  urged  him  forward,  and  he  took 
a  few  steps,  but  then  moved  back  in  his  tracks.     This 
was  repeated  twice.     Finally,  vexed  at  such  unusual 
obstinacy  in  an  animal  long  accustomed  to  rough  and 
nocturnal  travelling,  the  Doctor  struck  him  with  the 
whip.     The  horse  squealed  with  disgust  at  this  treat- 
ment,  shook  his  head,  advanced  as  before,  and  then 
backed  again,  and  cast  an  inquiring  glance  behind  him 
at  his  master.     Now  at   last,  the  Doctor,  dismount- 
ing, went  forward  to  reconnoitre.     And  this  is  what 
he  saw.     The  flooring  of  the  bridge  had  been  swept 
away  completely  by  a  flood ;  nothing  was  left  but  the 
sleepers  running  from  bank  to  bank,  and  it  was  on  one 
of  these  sleepers  that  the  horse  had  walked  out  so  far 
as  he  could  with  safety  to  the  gig  and  its  occupant. 
The  obstructions  half  a  mile  and  a  mile  back,  which 
the   roadster  had  jumped,  were  brush  fences  put  up 
to  stop  travel  on  the  highway  until  the  bridge  could 
be  repaired. 

Xow  that  we  are  in  the  vein,  I  trust  that  the  read- 
er will  pardon  me  if  I  relate  another  anecdote  of  a 
Morgan  roadster.  This  was  a  chestnut  mare  belong- 
ing to  an  old  and  highly  respected  "  Vet."  :  One  very 
dark  night  the  Doctor  was  driving  toward  home  at  a 
fast  trot  on  a  level  road,  and  in  his  proper  place  on 
the  right  hand  side  of  it.  Presently  he  heard,  though 
he  could  not  see,  a  wagon  approaching  at  a  rapid  rate 

1  Dr  Flagg,  of  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 


ROAD    HORSES.  125 

in  the  opposite  direction ;  but  as  his  lights  were  burn- 
ing brightly,  and  the  highway  was  a  broad  one,  he 
thought  nothing  of  it.  Suddenly,  however,  before  he 
could  stop  her,  his  steed  made  a  violent  jump  to  the 
left,  crossing  the  road,  and  barely  had  she  done  so, 
when  the  approaching  wagon,  driven,  as  it  appeared, 
by  a  drunken  man,  dashed  by  in  the  track  which  the 
Doctor's  buggy  had  just  left.  The  intelligent  mare 
had  waited  till  the  last  moment,  thinking  that  the 
vehicle  which  she  heard,  would  keep  to  the  right,  as 
it  should  have  done;  and  then,  foreseeing  that  a 
collision  was  otherwise  inevitable,  she  had  sprung  out 
of  the  path  of  danger. 

I  have  sketched  in  a  preceding  chapter  the  most 
speedy  and  highly  finished  branch  of  the  Morgan 
stock,  which  is  that  of  the  Lamberts,  descended, 
through  Ethan  Allen,  from  Vermont  Blackhaw^k. 
Vermont  Blackhawk  had  also  a  son  called  Vermont 
Hero,  and  Vermont  Hero  was  the  sire  of  General 
Knox l  (whose  name  I  have  mentioned),  a  famous 
trotting  stallion,  and  the  founder  of  a  subsidiary 
roadster  family.  This  animal  had  every  excellence 
except  that  of  beauty.  He  was  a  stout,  short-legged 
black  horse,  about  fifteen  hands  high,  with  a  good 
plain  head.  The  Knox  horses  bear  a  wonderful  fam- 
ily resemblance,  and  they  are  noted  for  their  courage, 
endurance,  docility,  and  intelligence.  Xo  branch  of 
the  Morgan  family  is  more  serviceable  or  more  ami- 
able than  this  one,  and,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  the  Lamberts,  none  is  more  speedy. 

1  His  dam  was  by  Searcher,  a  half-bred  horse  descended  from 
]  Homed  ,  and  his  second  dam  was  also  of  Diomed  blood.  Searcher's 
dam  was  a  Morgan.  General  Knox  was  therefore  a  combination  of 
Morgan  and  thoroughbred. 


126         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

The  Lamberts  and  the  Knoxes  are,  as  I  have  said, 
decendants  of  Sherman,  the  handsome  little  chestnut 
son  of  Justin  Morgan. 

There  are  also  two  families  of  fine  roadsters  and 
trotters  descended  from  Bulrush,  another  son  of  Jus 
tin  Morgan.  These  are  the  Fearnaughts  and  the  Win- 
throp  Morrills.  Both  of  these  families  are  inbred  to 
Justin  Morgan,  and  they  show  a  great  deal  of  quality 
and  of  spirit,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Bulrush 
was  a  coarse  horse,  with  a  very  heavy  mane  and  tail, 
suggestive  of  Canadian  blood  on  his  dam's  side.  This 
fact  goes  far  to  prove  that  Justin  Morgan  was  well 
bred  on  both  sides.  For  if  his  dam  had  been  —  as 
some  writers  assert  —  a  coarse-bred  Canadian  mare, 
like  the  dam  of  Bulrush,  then  inbreeding  among  the 
descendants  of  Justin  Morgan,  especially  in  the  Bul- 
rush line,  could  hardly  have  produced  horses  so  fine 
and  bloodlike  as  are  many  of  the  Fearnaughts  and  of 
the  Morrills.  The  Fearnaughts  are  usually  chestnut 
horses  ;  much  resembling  the  Lamberts,  but  somewhat 
larger,  and  perhaps  a  little  more  fiery. 

Another  excellent  family  of  roadsters  is  that  of  the 
Drews.  The  original  Drew,  a  Maine  horse,  was  foaled 
in  1842,  his  sire,  it  is  said,  being  a  pure  thoroughbred, 
a  b3.y  horse  sixteen  hands  high.  Drew  was  a  dark 
bay  or  brown,  standing  fifteen  and  a  quarter  hands,  and 
weighing  about  a  thousand  pounds.  He  had  good 
shoulders  and  a  fine  neck  "  light  at  the  head,  deep 
at  the  bodv,"  and  well  arched.  His  bodv  was  small : 
liis  hips  were  long  and  beautifully  turned.  He  had 
stout  legs,  long  pasterns  a  thin  mane,  and  a  nice 
short  coat.  His  dam  also  was  very  well  bred,  being 
by  Sir  Henry,  a   son  of  American  Eclipse,  out  of  a 


ROAD    HORSES.  127 

mare  by  Winthrop  Messenger.  Her  name  was  Boston 
Girl.  The  Drews,  as  might  be  presumed  from  this 
origin,  are  fine,  spirited,  hardy  horses,  with  much 
style  and  dash,  and  very  intelligent.  One  of  them,  a 
handsome  bay  stallion  called  Dirigo  (whose  dam  was 
nearly  thoroughbred),  used  to  be  driven  without  bit  or 
rein  through  the  town  where  his  owner  lived.  Guided 
by  the  voice  and  whip  of  his  driver,  the  horse  would 
speed  down  the  main  street  at  a  2.40  gait,  stop,  turn 
around,  and  do  whatever  was  required  of  him. 

One  of  the  best  roadsters  ever  known  in  New  Eng- 
land is  Bay  Fearnaught,  whose  sire  was  a  Fearnaught 
and  whose  dam  was  a  Drew,  so  that  in  him  these  two 
hardy  and  courageous  strains  are  united.  His  owner, 
Mr.  David  Xevins,  once  drove  Bay  Fearnaught  from 
South  Framingham  to  the  Somerset  Club  in  Beacon 
street,  Boston,  a  distance  of  twenty-two  miles  or  more, 
in  one  hour  and  twenty-eight  minutes.  The  horse 
was  driven  to  a  sleigh  containing  twro  men,  and  the 
going  was  very  good.  Reckoning  the  distance  at 
twenty-two  miles  exactly,  he  maintained  a  speed  of 
just  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  Bay  Fearnaught  has 
trotted  a  mile  to  road  wagon  in  2.35,  and  two  miles 
to  a  road  wagon  (wagon  and  driver  weighing  three 
hundred  pounds)  in  5.16.  This  horse  is  now  twenty- 
three  years  old,  and  his  owner  reports  him  as  being 
'•sound  as  a  bullet,  and  still  able  and  willing  to  go 
fast." 

Given  a  roadster  such  as  I  have  described,  and  a 
light,  open  wagon  fitted  with  a  stout  spring,  with 
lamps,  and  possibly  with  a  small  break ;  given  also  a 
sympathetic  companion  and  a  mackintosh,  —  and,  if 
you  like,  we  will  throw  in  a  dog :  thus  provided,  and 


128  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 


,      iniivn, 


with  all  New  England  stretching  out  before  you,  what 
more  delightful  than  to  take  the  road  at  any  time  be- 
tween April  and  November !  It  is  pleasant  to  start  in 
the  freshness  of  a  summer  morning,  with  the  prospect 
of  seeing  a  new  country,  and  with  the  comfortable 
assurance  that  it  is  a  matter  of  no  consequence  if 
you  become  lost  in  traversing  unknown  paths.  Your 
horse,  I  assume,  has  rested  well,  there  is  a  cheerful 
air  of  anticipation  about  his  ears,  and  the  wheels  turn 
smoothly  and  lightly  on  the  newly  oiled  axles.  It  is 
pleasant  to  stop  at  noon  in  a  patch  of  woods,  beside 
some  mountain  stream  or  at  the  edge  of  a  lake,  where 
better  quarters  can  be  had  than  any  tavern  or  summer 
hotel  affords.  The  roadster  is  taken  out,  the  dog  lies 
down  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  stretching  himself  with  a 
sigh  of  content,  and  a  sort  of  gypsy  camp  springs  up 
on  the  instant.  After  a  half-hour's  rest  comes  lun- 
cheon for  man  and  beast ;  the  steed  taking  his  oats 
out  of  a  pail  or  nose-bag,  the  dog  sharing  lamb-sand- 
wiches with  the  two  other  carnivorous  members  of  the 
party.  This  meal  concluded, — and  there  is  no  law 
against  lighting  a  small  fire  in  order  to  have  a  cup  of 
hot  tea  or  cocoa, — time  remains  for  a  nap,  or  for  read- 
ing a  novel,  or,  better  yet,  for  reclining  at  ease  and 
absorbing  impressions  from  nature.  A  fresh  start  is 
made  about  two  o'clock,  or  later  if  the  weather  be 
very  hot,  the  Houyhnhnm  having  first  been  made  to 
look  spick  and  span,  and  able  for  his  task.  It  is  pleas- 
ant then  to  drive  past  green  fields  and  groves  of  pine 
in  the  pensive  light  of  late  afternoon,  and  to  watch  the 
shadows  lengthening  on  the  mountains ;  it  is  pleasant 
as  the  cows  are  coming  home,  as  the  sun  is  setting, 
and  as  the  frogs  begin  their  nightly  chorus,   to    ap- 


ROAD    HORSES.  129 

proach  your  destination,  looking  forward  to  supper 
and  a  bed,  and  leaving  behind  a  day  long  to  be  remem- 
bered. Even  the  mishaps  that  befall  the  adventurous 
traveller,  such  as  losing  the  road  on  a  dark  night 
when  a  thunder-storm  is  raging,  and  finding  himself 
on  a  disused  path  through  the  woods  instead  of  the 
highway,  —  even  experiences  of  this  kind  are  delight- 
ful in  the  retrospect. 

The  evening  may  be  less  enjoyable.  New  England 
taverns  have  a  bad  name,  and  they  deserve  it.  Still, 
there  is  occasionally  a  good  one,  and  there  are  others 
that  possess  some  collateral  attraction.  The  best, 
perhaps,  are  usually  found  in  county  towns  where  tra- 
dition lingers.  I  remember  one  such,  well  situated 
on  a  New  Hampshire  hill.  The  village  was  very 
small,  containing  three  or  four  shops,  a  court-house,  a 
miniature  jail,  and  the  tavern,  a  rambling  structure 
with  low  ceilings.  The  rooms  were  but  tolerable,  the 
cooking  was  scarcely  that,  and  yet  the  place  had  an 
air,  a  flavor,  an  attraction,  which  at  first  I  was  unable 
to  resolve.  At  last  I  discovered  that  it  consisted 
chiefly  in  this  :  the  proprietor,  a  full-bearded,  high- 
colored  man  of  the  old  school,  invariably  and  con- 
stantly wore  a  tall  silk  hat ;  the  only  one,  in  all  proba- 
bility, for  ten  miles  around.  Unthinking  persons  may 
perceive  no  significance  in  this ;  but,  rightly  consid- 
ered, the  high  hat  indicated  a  certain  sense  of  self- 
respect,  as  well  as  a  certain  feeling  for  form  and 
ceremony.  If  the  hat  had  been  assumed  only  when 
the  wearer  went  outside,  then  it  would  have  been 
simply  a  protection  from  the  elements,  or  at  best  a 
matter  of  display  for  the  villagers ;  but  being  worn 
constantly  indoors,  without  regard  to  times    or   sea- 


130         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

sons,  it  ceased  to  be  a  hat  and  became  a  badge.  There 
was  another  good  feature  of  this  hotel ;  the  office,  a 
long,  low  room,  had  a  big  open  fireplace,  where  logs 
of  wood  burned  cheerfully  on  a  frosty  night  in  au- 
tumn. The  hostler,  moreover,  was  an  excellent  one. 
True,  he  fairly  reeked  of  chloroform  (New  Hampshire 
is  a  prohibition  State),  and  his  memory  was  not  of  the 
best,  being  unable  to  cany  "four  quarts  of  oats" 
more  than  fifteen  minutes,  or  to  distinguish  it  at  the 
distance  of  half  an  hour  from  a  bran  mash;  but  he 
was  gentle  with  his  horses,  and  groomed  them  well. 

If  the  roadster  is  to  be  kept  in  good  condition,  and 
to  come  out  fresh  every  morning,  his  master  must  be 
liberal  with  fees  and  vigilant  in  his  oversight.  Hos- 
tlers, —  I  say  it  with  reluctance,  —  especially  in  large 
stables,  are,  generally  speaking,  worthless,  drunken 
creatures  ;  and  here  and  there  a  tavern-keeper  is  found 
base  enough  to  cheat  a  horse  out  of  his  oats.  "But," 
some  self-indulgent  reader  may  exclaim,  "  one  might 
as  well  stay  at  home  as  to  go  off  on  a  journey  and  be 
bothered  with  a  horse."  This  would  be  distinctly  the 
argument  of  a  Yahoo,  and  if  any  one  is  in  danger  of 
bein^  deceived  bv  it  I  would  refer  him  to  what  the 
famous  Captain  Dugald  Dalgetty  said  upon  the  sub- 
ject: "'It  is  my  custom,  my  friends,  to  see  Gustavus 
(for  so  I  have  called  him,  after  my  invincible  master) 
accommodated  myself ;  we  are  old  friends  and  fellow 
travellers,  and  as  I  often  need  the  use  of  his  legs,  I 
always  lend  him  in  my  turn  the  service  of  my  tongue 
to  call  for  whatever  he  has  occasion  for  ; '  and  accord- 
ingh'  he  strode  into  the  stable  after  his  steed  without 
further  apology." 

Horses  often  fall  ill  or  break  down  on  a  journey,  and 


ROAD    HORSES.  13]. 

this  usually  happens  not  from  overdriving,  but  from 
allowing  them  to  get  cold,  from  watering  them  when 
they  are  hot,  from  feeding  them  when  they  are  tired 
and  from  general  neglect.     A  tired  roadster  seldom 
gets  a  bed  as  deep  and  soft  as  he  ought  to  have.     The 
famous  Jlr.  Splan  remarks  upon  this  point  as  follows  : 
"  What  horses  want  is  plenty  of  fresh  air,  to  be  com- 
fortably clothed,  and  to  have  a  good  bed  at  all  times. 
No  matter  how  well  you  feed  or  care  for  a  man,  if  you 
put  him  in  a  bad  bed  at  night  he  will  be  very  apt  to 
find  fault  in  the  morning,  and  I  think  it  is  the  same 
with  a  horse."     The  feet  of  a  road  horse  also  need  at- 
tention, and  his  shoes  are  all-important.     Most  country 
blacksmiths  do  their  work  like  butchers,  paring  and 
burning  the  foot  to  fit  the  shoe,  instead  of  adapting 
the  iron  to  the  hoof.     Still,  within  a  radius  of  five  or 
ten  miles  it  is  usually  possible  to  discover  a  single 
good  workman  in  this  regard,  and  the  traveller  can  get 
upon  his  track  by  inquiring  of  horsy  men  in  the  vicin- 
ity.    Every  village  in  New  England  contains  at  least 
one  enthusiastic  person  who  is  raising  colts  with  the 
confident  expectation  of  turning  out  a  #20,000  trotter 
Tins  man  will  know  who  is  the  good  blacksmith  of 
the  neighborhood. 

A  word  or  two  maybe  permitted  here  concerning 
the  harness  of  a  road  or  driving  horse.  With  a  lio-ht 
carriage,  and  where  the  country  is  level,  breeching  can 
be  dispensed  with,  and  a  well  made  horse  commonly 
looks  better  without  it.  Blinders,  again,  or  winkers, 
are  usually  superfluous.  An  intelligent  horse  once 
accustomed  to  an  open  bridle  is  apt  to  shy  less  thus 
harnessed,  for  he  can  look  about  more  freely.  Besides 
in  the  case  of  a  skittish  horse,  it  is  an  advantage  for  the' 


132         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

driver  to  be  able  to  watch  his  eye,  as  well  as  his  ear. 
Some  pulling  horses  go  better  with  blinders,  and  some 
nervous  horses  may  be  safer  with  them.  It  is  a 
matter  for  experiment  in  the  particular  case. 

The  question  of  check  reins  is  not  disposed  of  so 
easily,  although  many  good  people  have  convinced 
themselves  that  check  reins  under  all  circumstances 
are  cruel  and  unnecessary.  I  know  of  one  person 
whose  great  object  in  life,  apart  from  the  earning  of 
his  daily  bread,  is  to  do  away  with  this  part  of  the 
harness.  The  check  rein,  as  all  horsemen  know,  is 
often  essential  to  the  safety  of  human  life  and  limb. 
People  who  write  tracts  or  letters  to  the  newspapers 
condemning  it  in  toto  have  no  knowledge  of  horseflesh 
beyond  what  they  derive  from  an  acquaintance  with 
some  sedate  family  nag  of  mature  years.  If  they  had 
a  stableful  of  young  horses  to  exercise  in  harness 
in  winter  weather,  they  would  change  their  minds  on 
this  point.  Many  gay  horses  can  be  driven  in  per- 
fect safety  provided  they  wear  check  reins,  especially 
if  they  wear  the  over-draw  check ;  whereas  the  same 
horses  without  checks  would  be  likely  at  any  moment 
to  put  their  heads  down  and  run  away,  or,  if  they  had 
a  touch  of  deviltry,  to  kick  up  behind.  It  should  not 
be  forgotten  that  the  use  of  the  check  rein  makes  it 
possible  to  use  an  easy  bit,  where  without  the  check 
a  severe  bit  would  have  to  be  employed ;  and  any 
horse  in  his  senses  would  prefer  a  check  to  a  se- 
vere bit. 

But  apart  from  these  cases,  which,  after  all,  are  few 
in  number  compared  with  the  great  mass  of  horses  in 
the  service  of  man,  the  check  has  another  function, 
which  is  to  steady  the  horse,  and  to  make  it  easier 


ROAD    HORSES.  133 

for  liim  to  perforin  his  work  ;  but  if  the  check  be  too 
tight,  it  becomes  a  hindrance  and  a  vexation,  instead 
of  a  help. 

Charles  Marvin  relates  an  experience  with  a  year- 
ling which  shows  the  very  great  importance  of  not 
checking  a  horse  too  high  :  — 

"  There  was  a  certain  colt  at  Palo  Alto  that  showed 
remarkably  well  in  the  paddock,  but  after  we  got  him 
in  harness  we  found  that  he  could  not  exhibit  a  trace 
of  respectable  speed.  I  drove  him  one  day,  and  found 
that  he  could  not  trot  a  three-minute  gait.  .  .  .  After 
vain  and  discouraging  work  I  gave  him  up  for  that 
day,  thinking  that  perhaps  he  was  out  of  humor,  and 
sulky,  and  a  little  bit  tired.  The  next  day  I  tried  him 
again,  but  with  no  better  results.  ...  So  I  unhitched 
him  and  turned  him  loose  on  the  miniature  track,  and 
away  he  went  as  well  as  ever.  A  little  study  showed 
how  he  carried  his  head  and  how  he  balanced  himself. 
I  changed  the  check,  harnessed  him  again,  let  his 
head  free  so  that  he  could  carry  himself  in  his  own 
way,  and  that  same  day  he  showed  me  a  quarter  in 
better  than  forty  seconds." * 

It  is  natural  for  some  horses  to  carry  their  heads 
low,  for  others  to  carry  them  at  a  medium  height,  and 
for  a  few  to  hold  them  high.  But  the  check  rein  as 
commonly  used  disregards  these  natural  differences, 
and  pulls  up  the  head  of  the  unfortunate  animal  to  a 
point  which  suits  the  whim  or  vanity  of  his  owner. 
Even  horsemen  of  great  experience  frequently  err  in 
this  matter.  The  owner  of  Lady  De  Jarnette,  a  beau- 
tiful Kentucky  mare,  a  noted  prize-winner,  always 
drove  her  with  a  particularly  short,  over-draw  check, 

1  Training  the  Trotting  Horse,  page  218. 


134         EOAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

which  lie  thought  necessary.  Her  record  was  2.29^. 
One  day,  at  his  request,  John  Splan  drove  the  mare, 
and  by  the  simple  device  of  letting  out  the  check  rein 
a  few  holes,  Mr.  Splan  reduced  her  record  to  2.24^. 

"  Any  one,"  he  says,  "  could  have  driven  the  mare 
the  same  mile,  as  she  was  very  steady,  and  it  required 
no  particular  skill  to  manage  her.  She  simply  wanted 
to  be  properly  harnessed.  It  is  just  as  easy  to  choke 
a  horse  by  checking  him  too  high,  and  forcing  the 
tongue  back  into  the  entrance  of  the  throat,  as  it 
would  be  in  any  other  way.  I  have  seen  one  or  two 
horses  die  in  harness  that  I  am  sure  were  choked  to 
death."  1 

The  horse  should  never  be  checked  on  the  driving 
bit,  for  this  practice  tends  to  spoil  his  mouth.  Even 
when  a  side  check  is  used,  it  should  be  attached  to  a 
small  rubber  or  leather-covered  flexible  bit,  not  con- 
nected in  any  way  with  the  driving  bit.  This  ar- 
rangement is  an  uncommon  one,  but  I  have  tested 
it  thoroughly,  and  am  convinced  of  its  superiority. 

Of  course,  when  a  horse  has  the  weight  of  a  carriage 
to  draw,  the  discomfort  of  a  check  rein  too  short  is 
greatly  increased.  Splan  says :  "  I  think  that,  as  a 
rule,  road  horses  are  checked  entirely  too  high.  To 
place  a  horse's  head  in  that  position,  and  then  ask  him 
to  pull  five  hundred  pounds  of  weight  at  a  high  rate 
of  speed,  is  wrong.     The  horse  is  not  only  uncomfort- 

1  I  quote  from  the  instructive  work  "  Life  with  the  Trotters,"  to 
which  I  have  referred  in  a  previous  chapter.  Mr.  Splan  is  a  horse- 
man of  great  acuteness,  and  as  a  driver  cool,  resolute,  and  full  of 
resource.  A  man  of  much  experience  on  the  track  once  remarked, 
"  If  a  horse  were  going  to  trot  for  my  life  I  should  like  to  have  him 
conditioned  by  Budd  Doble  and  driven  by  John  Splan." 


ROAD    HORSES.  .       135 

able,  but  at  a  great  disadvantage.  I  notice  that  in 
drawing  weight  most  horses  hold  their  heads  in  a 
medium  position." 

As  to  the  over-draw  check,  useful  as  it  is  in  some 
cases,  I  am  free  to  say  that  I  wish  it  had  never  been 
invented,  so  grossly  is  it  abused.  How  often  do  we 
see  some  wretched  victim  of  man's  cruelty  straining 
up  hill  with  his  neck  in  an  abnormal  position,  or 
standing  still  and  denied  the  poor  privilege  of  hang- 
ing his  despondent  and  weary  head.  Nevertheless  it 
is  extremely  probable  that  the  same  horse,  if  equipped 
with  a  moderate  side  check,  would  perform  a  journey 
more  comfortably  than  if  he  wore  no  check.  If  his 
head  were  free,  he  would  be  apt  to  carry  it  somewhere 
between  his  fore  legs,  going  more  carelessly  as  he  be- 
came tired,  stumbling,  and  perhaps  falling  before  he 
reached  his  destination;  whereas  a  moderate  check 
would  hold  him  together,  and  sustain  his  morale. 
The  driver  who  gets  out  at  the  foot  of  every  steep 
hill  and  unchecks  his  horse  is,  generally  speaking, 
more  humane  than  the  man  who  dispenses  with  it 
altogether;  and  upon  a  journey,  or  upon  a  long  after- 
noon's drive  in  the  family  carriage,  this  amount  of 
trouble  ought  not  to  be  begrudged.  Besides,  the  exer- 
tion of  hopping  in  and  out  (in  addition,  of  course,  to 
walking  up  all  the  steep  pitches)  will  tend  to  ward 
off  that  stiffness  which  is  likely  to  attack  the  legs  of  a 
lazy  passenger. 

In  a  word,  then,  the  check  rein  is  sometimes  neces- 
sary to  the  proper  control  of  the  horse,  and  more  often 
it  is  an  advantage  to  the  horse  himself;  but  when 
drawn  too  tight,  especially  if  it  be  an  over-draw  check, 
it  is  a  hindrance  and  a  vexation,  and  frequently  an 


136  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

instrument  of  torture.     I  like  to  drive  a  horse  with- 
out check,  martingale,  blinders,  or  whip. 

One  great  point  in  all-day  driving  is  to  make  the 
noonday  stop  before  the  roadster  begins  to  tire.  Every 
horse  has  his  distance,  which  is  easily  ascertained  by 
experience,  though  allowance  must  of  course  be  made 
for  the  state  of  the  weather  and  of  the  roads.  To  this 
extent  he  will  go  along  cheerfully,  with  ears  and  tail 
in  their  normal  position;  but  drive  a  little  farther, 
and  he  begins  to  lag,  his  curiosity  is  gone,  his  ears 
lose  their  vivacity,  his  tail  droops,  and  he  wants  to 
stop.  It  is  well  to  make  the  noonday  halt  before  this 
point  is  reached,  even  though  half  the  journey  be  not 
completed. 

When  it  comes  to  undertaking  a  really  great  dis- 
tance, such  as  sixty  or  seventy  miles  in  a  day,  or  fifty 
miles  for  two  or  three  days  consecutively,  then  in- 
telligent driving  and  the  best  of  care  are  indispensable. 
Eveiy  foot  of  the  road  must  be  watched,  advantage 
taken  of  all  the  good  going  and  slight  declivities,  the 
bad  spots  avoided  as  much  as  possible,  and  the  move- 
ment and  condition  of  the  roadster  kept  under  vigi- 
lant observation  from  morning  till  night.  Unless  the 
driver  can  sympathize  with  the  horse,  so  as  to  know 
exactly  what  his  frame  of  mind  and  bodily  condition 
are  all  the  way  along,  he  is  incompetent  to  handle 
him  to  anything  like  the  best  advantage.  When  a 
day's  work  of  extraordinary  length  is  attempted,  the 
best  plan  is  to  stop  for  half  an  hour  or  so  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  morning,  and  also  in  the  middle  of  the  after- 
noon, in  order  to  give  the  roadster  a  short  rest  and 
a  luncheon  of  oats,  making  a  longer  halt,  of  course, 
at  noontime.      The  recent  Badminton  work  on  driv- 


ROAD    HORSES.  137 

ing  states  the  old  English  custom  in  this-  regard  as 
follows  :  — 

"Before  the  advent  of  railways,  fifty  miles  in  a 
day  was  not  considered  too  much  for  a  pair  of  horses 
to  do,  and  that  in  a  lumbering  travelling  carriage. 
The  rules  laid  down  for  such  a  journey  were,  to  go 
ten  miles  and  bait  for  fifteen  minutes,  giving  each 
horse  an  opportunity  to  wash  out  his  mouth,  and  a 
wisp  of  hay ;  then  to  travel  another  six  miles  and  stop 
half  an  hour,  taking  off  the  harness,  rubbing  the  horses 
well  down,  and  giving  to  each  half  a  peck  of  corn. 
After  travelling  a  further  ten  miles,  hay  and  water 
were  given  as  at  first,  when  another  six  miles  might 
be  traversed;  and  then  a  bait  of  at  least  two  hours 
was  considered  necessary,  and  the  horses  were  given 
hay  and  a  feed  of  corn.  After  journeying  another  ten 
miles,  hay  and  water,  as  before,  were  administered,  and 
the  rest  of  the  journey  might  be  accomplished  without 
a  further  stop,  when  the  horses  were  provided  with  a 
mash  for  their  night  meal,  and  if  the  weather  were 
cold  and  wet  some  beans  were  thrown  in.  This  calcu- 
lates a  pace  averaging  six  or  seven  miles  an  hour." 

I  am  acquainted  with  a  Morgan  filly,  five  years  old, 
that,  without  any  special  preparation,  travelled  last 
fall  from  the  White  Mountains  to  Boston,  one  hundred 
and  forty-seven  miles,  in  exactly  three  days,  with  per- 
fect ease.  The  first  day  she  went  but  thirty-five 
miles,  the  second  fifty-four,  the  third  fifty-eight.  Her 
owner  furnishes  me  with  the  following  account  of  the 
last  day :  — 

"  I  started  from  Portsmouth  at  eight  a.  m.,  drove 
fifteen  miles,  and  stopped  for  three  quarters  of  an 
hour,  taking  the  mare  out,  rubbing  her  legs  well,  and 


138         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

giving  her  two  quarts  of  oats.  I  then  drove  twelve 
miles,  and  stopped  again  in  a  patch  of  woods  for  two 
hours.  The  mare  had  some  hay,  procured  of  a  neigh- 
boring farmer,  with  three  quarts  of  oats,  and  was  well 
groomed.  Starting  again  at  about  four  o'clock,  I  drove 
to  Salem,  arriving  there  soon  after  six,  the  distance 
being  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles.  The  horse 
seemed  perfectly  fresh,  but  as  my  three  days  would 
not  be  up  till  eleven  p.  m.  (inasmuch  as  I  started  at 
eleven  a.  m.  on  the  first  day),  I  concluded  to  stop  for 
dinner.  The  mare  was  put  into  a  stable  and  rubbed 
down.  Her  legs  were  bandaged,  and  she  was  pro- 
vided with  some  hay  and  two  or  three  quarts  of  oats, 
which  she  ate  greedily.  At  seven  thirty  she  was  har- 
nessed again,  and  came  up  to  Boston  as  readily  as  if 
she  were  out  for  the  first  time  that  day.  Her  eye  was 
perfectly  bright  when  I  arrived,  she  exhibited  no 
sign  of  fatigue,  and  would  doubtless  have  been  good 
for  twenty  miles  more." 

This  was  a  creditable  performance  to  have  been 
done  so  easily,  especially  as  the  road  from  Portsmouth 
is  flat  and  sandy.  A  moderately  hilly  road  is  much 
less  fatiguing.  The  same  filly,  it  may  be  added,  when 
but  three  years  old,  made  seventy  miles  in  a  day  of 
twelve  hours,  drawing  a  skeleton  wagon.  Such  a 
journey  would  have  ruined  most  young  horses,  but 
the  next  morning,  when  turned  out  to  pasture,  she 
threw  up  her  heels,  as  sound  and  lively  as  any  colt 
in  the  lot. 

Another  Morgan  mare,1  of  similar  appearance,  being 
black,  and  "  a  compactly  built,  nervy,  wiry  animal  of 
the  steel  and  whalebone  sort,"  is  credited  with  going 

1  The  property  of  Mr.  Farnum,  of  Waltham,  Massachusetts. 


ROAD    HORSES.  139 

eight  miles  in  thirty-seven  minutes,  returning  over  the 
same  ground  in  thirty-six  minutes.  On  another  occa- 
sion she  accomplished  forty-three  miles  in  three  hours 
and  twenty-live  minutes.     This  is  great  roading. 

Vermont  Champion,  a  son  of  Sherman  Morgan  and 
grandson  of  Justin  Morgan,  was  once  driven  by  his 
owner,  Mr.  Knights,  from  Concord,  Vermont,  to  Port- 
kind,  Maine,  with  a  load  of  pork.  The  trip  down, 
presumably  in  a  sleigh,  took  three  or  four  days,  the 
distance  being  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles.  On  arriving  at  Portland,  Mr.  Knights 
found  a  letter  that  had  been  sent  by  stage,  informing 
him  of  illness  in  his  family ;  and  the  next  morning  he 
started  for  home,  which  he  reached  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening  of  the  same  day.  "  Old  men  are  now 
alive,"  says  my  informant,  "who  saw  Champion  the 
next  day,  and  who  state  that  he  looked  fit  to  repeat 
the  exploit." 

But  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  horse  of  which  I 
have  been  able  to  obtain  a  trustworthy  account  is  Joe 
Renock,  a  blood  bay  inbred  Morgan  stallion  of  great 
style  and  beauty,  kept  for  many  years  at  Sherbrooke 
in  the  Province  of  Quebec.  He  stood  about  15.1 
and  weighed  about  eleven  hundred  pounds.  A  for- 
mer owner  thus  describes  him  :  "  He  had  the  hand- 
somest head  I  ever  saw  on  a  horse.  His  neck  was 
perfect ;  so  was  his  body.  He  had  the  most  beautiful 
long  mane  and  tail  that  ever  graced  a  horse.  In 
passing  your  finger  through  them,  the  hair  felt  as  soft 
as  silk.  He  had  as  perfect  a  set  of  legs  and  feet  as 
ever  was  seen.  His  legs  were  of  the  flinty  kind,  as 
clean  and  smooth  as  those  of  a  deer."  Like  Justin 
Morgan,    Joe   Renock   was    excellent   under    saddle. 


140         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

especially  as  a  charger.  Colonel  Lovelace,  an  English 
officer,  a  veteran  of  the  Crimea,  who  rocle  Joe  Renock 
on  one  occasion,  declared  him  to  be  the  most  perfect 
saddle  horse  that  he  had  ever  seen.  But  it  is  for  his 
roadster  qualities  chiefly  that  I  cite  him  here.  Mr. 
John  Harkness,  an  old  horseman,  and,  as  I  am  in- 
formed on  good  authority,  a  truthful  man  gives  the 
following  account. 1 

"  On  one  occasion  I  drove  this  stallion  ninety  miles 
in  one  day,  under  adverse  circumstances,  which  I  will 
relate.  I  started  with  him  on  a  journey  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  It  was  on  the  first  day  of  August, 
1869.  Joe  Renock  carried  about  one  hundred  pounds 
of  surplus  flesh,  and  was  hitched  to  a  phaeton  top 
buggy,  holding  my  wife  and  myself.  I  calculated  to 
make  the  journey  in  three  days.  I  left  home  at  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  drove  to  Drummondville, 
a  distance  of  about  fifty  miles.  I  landed  in  Drum- 
mondville at  noon  of  the  same  day.  ■  I  am  wrong  in 
saying  that  I  drove  him.  I  should  say  he  pulled  me 
every  inch  of  the  way.  He  would  not  pull  to  fight 
his  driver,  but  he  would  go  right  up  on  the  bit,  and 
keep  his  driver  busy  all  the  time. 

"  I  put  him  up,  intending  to  stop  for  the  night  at 
Drummondville.  After  he  cooled  off,  I  took  him  out 
and  groomed  him.  After  I  got  through  with  my  job, 
I  led  him  out  by  the  halter,  and  he  played  around  me 
like  a  squirrel.  My  wife  stood  on  the  veranda  and 
remarked,  '  He  feels  well  after  his  drive.'  I  told  her 
to  get  ready,  and  we  would  drive  to  a  place  called  Mos- 
cow, about  twenty-five  miles  farther,  as  I  did  not  like 
to  stav  at  Drummondville. 

V 

1  In  the  American  Horse  Breeder  of  April  22,  1892. 


ROAD    HORSES.  141 

"  The  day  was  hot,  and  it  was  a  sandy  country, 
which  made  it  hard  wheeling.  I  left  Druniniondville 
at  two  o'clock,  and  he  pulled  me  by  the  bit  all  the  way 
to  Moscow.  When  I  got  there  the  sun  was  quite  high. 
1  then  reined  him  for  Sorrell,  fifteen  miles  beyond, 
and  the  last  three  miles  were  through  a  sandy  pine 
wood.  Here  he  commenced  to  rave  so  much  that  I 
was  obliged  to  get  out  of  the  buggy  at  two  different 
times,  and  hold  him  by  the  bit  until  I  rested  my  arms. 
So  much  for  Joe  Eenock,  after  driving  him  ninety 
miles. 

"  I  rubbed  him  dry,  and  he  was  in  the  stable  before 
sunset.  I  hitched  him  up  the  next  morning,  and  he 
went  up  to  the  bit  every  rod  of  the  sixty  miles,  the 
balance  of  my  journey,  and  did  his  last  with  as  much 
ease  as  any  mile  in  the  trip."  1 

Like  most  other  great  horses,  Joe  Renock  derived 
his  energy  and  strength  largely  from  his  dam,  who  is 
thus  described  by  the  Vermont  farmer  who  owned 
her :  "  She  was  a  blocky  fifteen-hand  dark  brown  or 
black  mare  with  white  strip  and  one  white  hind  foot, 
full  of  pluck  and  nerve.  No  better  mare  ever  trod 
the  green  hills  of  Vermont.  I  have  driven  her  for 
hundreds  of  miles,  and  followed  her  for  days  on  the 
farm.  I  have  known  her  to  be  taken  up  from  the 
pasture  and  driven  seventy  miles  in  a  day,  and  it  did 
not  take  her  all  day  to  do  it."  Joe  Renock,  foaled 
at  Poultney,  Vermont,  about  the  year  1857,  was  this 
mare's  last  colt,  she  being  then  twenty  years  of  age. 

The  shortest  time  for  one  hundred  miles  is  that 
made  by  Conqueror,  harnessed  to  a  sulky,  at  Centre- 
ville,  Long  Island,  in  1853,  which   was  eight  hours. 

1  See  also  page  200  for  an  instance  of  good  roading. 


142         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

fifty-five  minutes,  and  fifty-three  seconds.  Several 
other  horses  have  done  this  distance  in  less  than  ten 
hours.  Fifty  miles  were  trotted  at  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  in  1835,  by  a  horse  called  Black  Joker,  in 
three  hours  and  fifty-seven  minutes.  Several  horses 
have  trotted  twenty  miles  within  an  hour,  the  first  to 
do  it  being  Trustee,  a  half-bred  horse.  One  of  the 
few  defeats  that  Flora  Temple  ever  suffered  was  in  a 
match  to  trot  twenty  miles  within  an  hour,  harnessed 
to  a  skeleton  wagon;  "that  kind  of  going  on  in  a 
treadmill  sort  of  way/'  as  Hiram  Woodruff  remarks, 
"  not  being  her  strong  point."' 

An  American  trotting  horse,  called  Tom  Thumb, 
said  to  resemble  a  Canadian  pony,  and  owned  by  Mr. 
Osbaldestone,  in  England,  covered  one  hundred  miles 
in  ten  hours  and  seven  minutes,  the  vehicle  weighing 
nearly  or  quite  one  hnndred  pounds.  An  English- 
bred  mare  was  afterward  matched  to  accomplish  the 
same  task.  "  She  was,"  according  to  Youatt,  "  one  of 
those  animals  rare  to  be  met  with,  that  could  do  al- 
most anything  as  a  hack,  a  hunter,  or  in  harness.  On 
one  occasion,  after  having,  in  following  the  hounds 
and  travelling  to  and  from  cover,  gone  through  at 
least  sixty  miles  of  country,  she  fairly  ran  away  with 
her  rider  over  several  ploughed  fields.  She  accom- 
plished the  match  in  ten  hours  and  fourteen  minutes. 
.  .  .  She  was  a  little  tired,  and.  being  turned  into  a 
loose  box,  lost  no  time  in  taking  her  rest.  On  the 
following  day  she  was  as  full  of  life  and  spirit  as 
ever.  This  is  a  match,"  Mr.  Youatt  continues,  "which 
it  is  pleasant  to  record :  for  the  owner  had  given 
positive  orders  to  the  driver  to  stop  at  once  on  her 
showing  decided  symptoms  of  distress,  as  he  valued 


ROAD    HORSES. 


143 


her  more  than  anything  he  could  gain  by  her  enduring 
actual  suffering." 

No  sensible  person  will  care  to  drive  fifteen  miles 
in  an  hour  or  seventy  in  a  day,  except  as  a  feat ;  but 
if  you  wish  to  travel  forty  or  fifty  miles,  it  is  a  great 
thing  to  have  a  roadster  who  is  capable  of  going 
seventy  or  eighty.  To  ride  behind  a  tired  horse  is 
fatiguing  and  depressing  in  the  extreme,  whereas 
there  is  a  sense  of  exhilaration  in  covering  a  long 
distance  which  is  yet  well  within  the  known  powers 
of  your  steed.  In  fact,  a  good  roadster  is  something 
like  a  satisfactory  bank  account,  —  your  pleasure  in 
his  capacity  is  great  almost  in  proportion  as  the  drafts 
which  you  make  upon  it  are  small. 


VI. 


SADDLE  HOKSES. 


WHAT  are  the  marks  of  a  good  saddle  horse  ? 
Perhaps  the  most  important  one  is  the  pos- 
session of  "  riding  shoulders,"  —  i.  e.  long,  sloping 
shoulders,  terminating  in  rather  high,  thin  withers. 
Such  shoulders  are  indispensable  for  a  good  jumper,  as 
a  horse  always  lands  on  his  fore  feet,  and  they  make 
the  animal  easy  to  sit.  It  was  said  of  Fair  Nell,  the 
Irish  mare  who  beat  Haleem  Pacha's  best  Arab  in 
an  eight-mile  race,1  that  "  she  had  such  beautiful 
shoulders,  with  so  much  before  you,  and  with  such 
an  elastic  stride,  that  it  was  easy,  even  delightful, 
to  sit  on  her,  although  her  temper  was  hot,  and  at 
times  she  plunged  violently." 

1  See  page  119. 


SADDLE   HORSES.  145 

A  saddle  horse  should  have  a  rather  short  back, 
the  least  bit  curved,  which  is  the  true  Arab  forma- 
tion. Mr.  S.  W.  Parliu  has  indicated  this  shape  in 
the  following  description  of  Flying  Eaton,  a  noted 
Maine  horse:  "While  he  had  a  strong,  broad  loin 
and  excellent  coupling,  there  was  a  graceful  down- 
ward curvature  of  the  spine  in  front  of  the  coupling 
which  gave  him  in  some  degree  the  appearance  of 
being  slightly  sway -backed,  —  a  conformation  often 
found  among  the  descendants  of  Sherman  Morgan."  1 
"Just  the  curve,"  writes  Mr.  Palgrave,  describing 
the  Arab  horses  in  the  Emir's  stables  at  Hail,  "  which 
indicates  springiness   without  any  weakness." 

But  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  rule  as  to  short 
backs  is  fairly  riddled  with  exceptions.  Very  speedy 
horses,  as  distinguished  from  weight-carriers  and 
"stayers,"  commonly  have  backs  of  medium  or  even 
greater  length ;  and  Whyte-Melville  states  that  the 
best  three  weight-carriers  he  ever  knew  all  had  the 
fault  of  being  overlong  in  the  back. 

Other  marks  of  a  good  saddle  horse  are  short 
cannon  bones,  strong  quarters  and  hocks,  —  it  is  an 
old  stable  aphorism,  "  ISTo  'ocks,  no  'unter,"  —  a  neck 
rather  long,  so  that  his  wind  may  be  good,  feet 
rather  small,  so  that  he  may  step  lightly,  and 
pasterns  somewhat  oblique  and  yielding.  A  short, 
straight  pastern  makes  a  hard  gait,  and  is  apt  to 
break  down,  and  a  pastern  too  long  or  too  oblique 
is  an  even  greater  indication  of  weakness.  The  pas- 
tern of  a  saddle  horse  is  next  in  importance  to 
the  shoulder.  Upon  it  depends  his  elasticity,  and 
to   a  considerable    extent    his    jumping    power,    and 

1  See  page  197. 
10 


146         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


it  is  at  this  point  that  race  horses  most  frequently 

give  out. 

A  good  saddle  horse,  like  a   good   horse   for   any 

other  purpose,  should  be  well  "ribbed  up."  A  con- 
siderable space  between  the  last  rib  and  the  hip 
bone  almost  invariably  indicates  a  want  of  toughness. 
Animals  thus  built  usually  require  more  grain,  and 
are  capable  of  less  work,  than  "  close-ribbed  "  horses. 
A  thin  waist  also  commonly  shows  a  want  of  strength^ 
but,  as  I  have  remarked  with  reference  to  harness 
horses,  this  is  by  no  means  an  unfailing  sign.  The 
famous  steeple-chaser,  Emblem,  a  beautiful  bay  mare 
with  wonderful  shoulders,  had  no  "  middle  piece," 
and  yet  she  was  a  noted  stayer.  Hempstead,  an 
American  gelding  remarkable  as  a  jumper,  was  an- 
other instance  of  a  wasp-waisted  but  strong  horse. 
It  may  be  doubted,  however,  if  in  these  and  in  other 
like  cases  the  want  of  strength  is  not  supplied  by 
extraordinary  courage  and  resolution.  A  coarse-bred 
horse  that  was  also  thin-waisted  would  probably 
show,  as  well  as  feel,  a  lack  of  endurance. 

A  horse  with  low  withers  is,  generally  speaking, 
unfit  for  the  saddle,  especially  if  he  stands  higher 
behind  than  in  front,  —  a  conformation  apt  to  be 
found  both  in  fast  runners  and  in  fast  trotters. 
When  such  horses  have  good  legs  and  feet,  they  can 
carry  a  light  man  without  danger  of  becoming  knee- 
sprung,  but  weight-carrying  is  not  their  forte,  and 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  they  will  never  trot  so 
fast  under  saddle  as  they  will  in  harness  ;  whereas, 
as  a  rule,  a  trotter  is  estimated  to  be  about  three 
seconds  (per  mile)  faster  under  saddle  than  in  har- 
ness.    During  one  whole  winter  I  rode   a  horse   of 


SADDLE    HORSES.  147 

this  shape,  never  allowing  him  to  gallop,  but  often 
urging  him  to  a  fast  trot ;  and  yet  in  all  that  time 
only  once  did  he  strike  the  long,  rapid  gait  of  which 
he  was  capable,  and  which  he  would  invariably  show 
when  harnessed  to  a  light  vehicle.  This  motion, 
the  extended  trot  of  a  really  fast  horse,  is  very 
peculiar,  and  usually  not  very  comfortable  to  the 
rider,  the  hind  legs  being  well  brought  up  under  the 
animal  at  every  stride,  and  also,  in  many  cases,  going 
wider  than  the  fore  feet,  so  that  the  man  in  the 
saddle  feels  as  if  he  might  be  thrown  over  his  horse's 
head.  And  yet  some  trotters  step  so  smoothly  that 
they  can  be  sat  close  at  a  2.30  gait. 

If  your  object  in  riding  is  mainly  that  of  exercise, 
almost  any  sound,  active  horse  that  does  not  stumble 
will  answer  the  purpose.  If  his  trot  be  hard,  the 
more  exercise  you  will  get,  and  the  better  practice 
you  will  have.  The  worst  horses  to  ride  are  those 
cold-blooded,  nerveless  animals,  which,  tiring  after 
a  few  miles,  let  themselves  go,  and  actually  tumble 
down,  unless  kept  up  to  the  mark,  rather  than  take 
the  trouble  to  remain  on  their  legs.  Many  coarse- 
bred  cobs  are  of  this  character.  They  wear  a  decep- 
tive appearance  of  strength,  have  stout  limbs  and 
broad  chests,  but  lack  nervous  energy  and  courage. 

I  remember  taking  a  faint-hearted  cob,  the  property 
of  another,  from  the  town  in  which  I  lived  to  the  city 
where  he  was  to  be  sold  at  auction  on  the  following 
day,  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles.  Before  we 
had  accomplished  one  quarter  of  the  journey,  while 
cantering  down  a  very  slight  decline,  the  cob  fell.  It 
is  no  joke  to  break  the  knees  of  a  friend's  horse,  and 
the  sympathetic  reader  will  easily  imagine  —  as  I  shall 


148         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

never  forget  —  the  feeling  of  horrid  anticipation  with 
which  I  glanced  at  his  legs.  Bnt  fortunately,  the 
ground  being  soft,  the  hair  had  not  been  taken  off.  so 
that  the  cob's  selling  value  remained  as  it  had  been. 
I  remounted,  and  "carrying  his  head  in  my  hand," 
rode  the  rest  of  the  way,  divided  between  the  fear  of 
beiug  late  for  an  important  engagement  and  of  spoil- 
ing the  horse,  to  say  nothing  of  my  own  neck.  But 
when  your  mount  arrives  at  this  condition,  when  he 
feels  like  a  block  of  wood  beneath  you,  all  his  elas- 
ticity  being  gone,  and  especially  if  he  begins  to  stum- 
ble, the  better  plan  is  to  get  off  aud  walk.  The  most 
skilful  riding  cannot  with  any  certainty  keep  him  on 
his  legs.  However,  if  your  journey  be  a  matter  of 
life  and  death,  or  if  you  prefer  to  take  the  gambler's 
chance  of  finishing  it  without  an  accident,  your  only 
course  is  to  maintain  a  firm  hold  of  the  bit, —  not  a 
dead  pull,  but  a  "  sensational,"  enlivening  pull,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  touch  up  the  faltering  nag  with  whip 
or  spur.  If  he  is  allowed  when  tired  to  drop  into 
his  natural  lethargic  condition,  he  will  quickly  be 
down  in  the  dust. 

Stumbling  horses  will  sometimes  fall  even  when 
going  at  a  walk-,  they  do  so  most  frequently  at  a  jog 
trot,  and  the  likeliest  spot  for  such  an  accident  is  near 
the  bottom  of  a  hill,  where  the  ground  still  declines, 
but,  the  steepness  of  the  descent  being  past,  the  horse 
relaxes  his  attention.  "  It  is  not  at  a  desperate  '  hiv- 
erman'  pace,  and  over  very  bad  roads,  that  a  horse 
tumbles  and  smashes  his  knees,  but  on  your  par- 
ticularly nice  road,  when  the  horse  is  going  gently 
and  lazily,  and  is  half  asleep,  like  the  gemman  on 
his  back." 


SADDLE    HORSES.  149 

It  is  usually  thought  that  high-stepping  horses  are 
less  likely  to  fall  than  low  steppers  or  "  daisy-cut- 
ters,"' but  this  I  believe  to  be  an  error.  Some  horses 
occasionally  fall,  but  otherwise  never  stumble,  whereas 
a  low-stepping  horse  may  stumble  frequently,  but 
never  come  down,  always  saving  himself  with  the 
other  leg.  It  is  a  matter  chiefly  of  legs  and  feet,  and 
of  courage ;  but  a  nag  who  puts  his  toe  down  first  is 
almost  sure  to  be  a  stum  bier. 

I  need  not  say  that  the  saddle  horse,  above  all 
others,  being  necessarily  an  intimate  companion  of  his 
master,  should  possess  intelligence  and  good  temper ; 
he  should  have  fine,  well-bred  ears,  a  large,  expressive 
eye,  a  tapering  nose,  and  nicely  cut,  expansive  nos- 
trils. To  bestride  a  lop-eared,  coarse-headed  beast 
would  give  little  satisfaction  to  a  person  of  proper 
equine  susceptibilities.  But  it  is  astonishing  what 
small  importance  professional  horsemen  commonly 
attach  to  this  vital  matter  of  intelligence,  the  reason 
perhaps  being  that  they  take  the  purely  mechanical 
view  of  the  horse,  considering  him  merely  as  a  crea- 
ture who  is  able,  or  unable,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  get 
over  the  ground  and  to  carry  a  weight.  I  have  known 
many  instances  where  jockeys  or  dealers,  being  em- 
ployed to  buy  a  horse  for  a  customer,  have  picked 
out  an  animal  which  had  all  the  requisites  except  the 
saving  one  of  good  sense. 

I  remember  one  case  in  particular  where  a  keen 
judge  of  horseflesh  was  sent  to  Kentucky  for  a  saddle 
horse.  The  man  paid  a  large  price  and  came  back 
with  an  admirable  beast,  young,  sound,  thoroughly 
taught,  good  in  harness  as  well  as  under  saddle,  fast, 
and,  except  for  the  shape  of  his  head,  very  handsome. 


150         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

But  the  head  was  ill-shaped,  and  the  eye  had  the  un- 
easy, glassy,  indescribable,  but  easily  recognized  look 
of  a  stupid  and  dangerous  animal.  Such  he  proved  to 
be  ;  and  after  being  half  starved  to  "keep  him  down," 
and  then  "  fed  up ';  to  make  him  look  fat  again,  he 
brought  matters  to  a  crisis  by  running  away.  Where- 
upon he  was  sold  at  auction  for  about  one  twentieth 
of  the  sum  that  he  had  cost. 

Only  the  other  day,  a  trainer  of  many  years'  expe- 
rience assured  me  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  ex- 
pression of  a  horse's  eye,  —  nothing  at  all;  the  only 
significance  was  in  the  shape  of  the  head.  ]S"ow  the 
shape  of  the  head  is  significant,  but  not  more  so  than 
the  eye. 

The  horse  that  I  have  described  as  suitable  for  the 
saddle  is,  as  the  reader  will  doubtless  have  perceived, 
most  apt  to  be  found  among  half-bred  animals, — mean- 
ing those  that  have  some  fraction,  it  may  be  a  very 
large  or  a  very  small  one,  of  thorough-bred  blood. — 
and  the  nearer  thoroughbred,  the  better. 

Good  carriage  horses  are  often  described  as  hunters 
of  a  large  pattern ;  the  Cleveland  Bays  were  part-bred 
horses ;  the  Yorkshire  Coach  Horse  Society  counts  a 
thoroughbred  out  cross  ("two  in  and  one  out")  as 
not  disqualifying  the  animal  thus  bred  for  recording 
in  its  book ;  and  in  general  it  may  be  said  that  good 
horses  for  riding  and  driving  are  half-breds. 

But,  as  no  horseman  needs  to  be  told,  the  half-bred 
is  often  a  very  poor  animal,  combining  the  defects  of 
both  strains  and  this  is  especially  the  case  when  all 
the  hot  blood  is  on  one  side,  and  all  the  cold  blood  on 
the  other.  The  produce  of  a  thorougbred  horse  and 
a  cart  mare  is  sometimes  a  grand  beast,  with  the  spirit 


SADDLE    HORSES.  151 

of  its  sire  and  the  strength  of  its  dam  ;  but  more  often 
animals  thus  bred  are  leggy,  slab-sided,  and  nerveless. 

The  same  result  is  likely  to  follow  when  two  horses 
of  about  equal  breeding,  but  of  very  antagonistic 
qualities,  are  mated.  General  Knox  and  Lady  Thome 
were  nearly,  if  not  quite,  the  best  trotting  horse  and 
mare  of  their  day.  Lady  Thome  was  out  of  a  thor- 
oughbred mare  b}^  a  horse  bred  in  the  same  way. 
The  dam  of  General  Knox  was  also  by  a  thoroughbred. 
But  General  Knox  was  a  coarse,  stout-limbed,  rather 
heavy-headed  horse,  whereas  Lady  Thome  had  the 
quality  of  a  thoroughbred,  and,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  their  foal,  General  Washington,  proved  to 
be  a  rangy,  weedy  beast,  far  inferior  to  his  sire  and 
dam.  However,  some  of  General  Washington's  colts 
are  very  tine  animals,  the  inherited  excellence  which 
was  latent  in  him  having  appeared,  as  often  happens 
in  similar  cases,  in  the  second  generation. 

When  it  comes  to  racing,  or  steeple-chasing,  and 
even  to  fox-hunting  in  the  fast  counties  of  England, 
something  different  is  required.  Of  late  years  the 
best  steeple-chasers  have  commonly  been  thorough- 
bred ;  and  it  is  said  that  no  horse  with  the  slightest 
taint  of  cold  blood  in  his  pedigree  can  now  live  in 
"  the  first  flight "  of  the  Quorn  hunt. 

It  is  a  fact  of  some  interest,  that  during  the  past 
forty  years  or  so  both  fox-hunting  and  prize-fighting 
have  undergone  a  similar  change,  in  each  case  a  long, 
slow  process  having  been  replaced  by  a  short,  quick 
one.  The  newly  invented  "  hurricane  rushes '  cor- 
respond to  the  tremendous  bursts  of  speed  with  which 
the  Leicestershire  riders  now  chase  the  fox ;  and  the 
loser's  fate  in  a  modern  prize-fight  is  commonly  de- 


152         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

cicled  in  about  the  same  time  that  it  takes  to  kill  the 
speedy  Reynard  of  the  present  day. 

The  time  may  come  when  the  universal  horse  for 
harness  or  for  saddle  will  be  a  thoroughbred.  "  Thor- 
oughbreds," says  one  writer  in  the  Badminton  volume 
on  Eacing,  "  are  the  best  for  all  kinds  of  work,  except 
of  course  that  of  heavy  draught  horses,"  and  thorough- 
bred mares  have  been  used  for  ploughing  on  at  least 
one  farm  in  England.  The  thoroughbred  horse  is  not 
necessarily  a  long-legged  greyhound  kind  of  beast. 
Even  at  this  day,  though  not  so  commonly  as  when 
the  process  of  developing  a  racing  machine  from 
Eastern  stock  began,  thoroughbreds  are  found  with 
comparatively  short  legs,  well  rounded  bodies,  necks 
inclined  to  arch,  and  in  general  not  devoid  of  those 
graceful  curves  which,  in  the  modern  racer,  have 
mainly  been  supplanted  by  straight  lines.  Such  a 
thoroughbred  is  Mr.  Burdett-Coutts's  hunter  sire,  True- 
fit  ;  such  also  is  the  well  known  American  horse,  Duke 
of  Magenta ;  and  such  was  Glencoe,  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  horses  ever  imported  to  this  country.1 

In  this  neighborhood  most  men  who  ride  own  but 
one  saddle  horse,  and  commonly  their  stud  begins  and 
ends  with  him.  He  should  be,  therefore,  an  all-round 
horse,  fit  to  carry  his  master  from  a  suburban  home  to 
the  city,  and  to  do  this  day  after  day  on  hard  roads. 
He  should  also  be  ready  at  all  times  for  a  spin  across 
country,  —  a  fast  trotter,  a  fairly  good  jumper,  and, 

1  Glencoe  was  foaled  in  1831,  and  imported  in  1837.  He  was 
by  Sultan:  dam,  Trampoline  by  Tramp;  second  dam,  Web  by 
Waxey.  Many  trotters,  including  Jay-Eye-See  with  a  record  of 
2.10,  trace  to  Glencoe  through  their  dams.  His  thoroughbred  son^ 
Rifleman,  is  the  sire  of  Colonel  Lewis,  whose  record  is  2.18|. 


SADDLE    HORSES.  153 

above  all,  an  intelligent,  docile,  sound,  tough  horse. 
But  we  see  very  few  such.  Some  men  ride  pretty,  fat 
cobs,  that  have  little  "  go  "  and  no  endurance  5  others 
are  mounted  on  tall,  bony,  blood-like  animals,  good 
for  hunting,  but  not  suited  to  a  daily  journey  over 
macadamized  roads  and  pavements.  Others  again 
ride  long-legged,  coarse-jointed,  coarse-haired  char- 
gers that  have  no  indication  of  good  breeding  except 
the  quite  unnecessary  amount  of  daylight  which  is 
visible  beneath  them. 

What  is  wanted  is  a  compact,  elastic,  rather  small 
horse,  with  legs  and  feet  of  iron.  Such  pre-eminently 
is  the  Arab,  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that,  if  Arabs  of 
pure  lineage  could  be  bred  in  this  country,  they  would 
furnish  a  useful  and  popular  breed  of  saddle  horses. 
Their  inferiority  to  thoroughbreds  as  racers  is  incon- 
testable, but  beside  the  point. 

In  India,  imported  English  and  Australian  horses 
give  the  Arabs,  three  stone,  country-breds  two  stone, 
and  Capes  fourteen  pounds.  "These  country -bred 
horses,"'  says  an  English  officer,  "having  a  strong 
dash  of  thoroughbred  English  blood,  are  generally 
faster  than  Arabs,  for  say  six  furlongs,  but  do  not 
stay  as  well."  The  same  authority,  after  speaking  of 
the  comparative  slowness  of  Arabs,  continues  :  "Yet, 
for  all  that,  there  is  a  great  deal  to  be  said  in  their 
favor  as  high-mettled  racers.  They  are,  as  a  rule, 
game,  honest,  and  grand  stayers ;  so  sound  that  an 
inexperienced  owner  may  take  all  sorts  of  liberties 
with  them  in  their  training  without  breaking  them 
down  ;  docile  and  easy  to  ride."  Another  peculiarity 
of  Arab  horses,  which  shows  the  homogeneousness 
and  fixed  character  of  the  breed,  is  the  fact  that  they 
can  all  run  about  equally  fast. 


154         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

The  endurance  of  the  Arab  is  probably  greater  than 
that  of  any  other  living  horse.  A  match  against  time 
was  won  in  1840  by  an  Arab  horse  at  Bungalore.  in 
the  presidency  of  Madras,  who  travelled  four  hundred 
miles  in  four  consecutive  days.  Mr.  Frazer,  in  his 
"  Tartar  Journeys,"  relates  that  an  Arab  carried  him 
five  hundred  and  twenty-two  miles  in  six  days,  rested 
three,  went  back  in  five,  rested  nine,  and  returned  in 
seven.  What  thoroughbred  could  do  as  much  ?  But 
I  am  bound  to  add,  some  authorities  think  that  the 
thoroughbred  horse  can  outstrip  and  outlast  the  Arab 
over  any  distance.  Air.  S..  Sidney,  for  example,  a 
very  high  authority,  believes  this  to  have  been  true 
of  Fair  Nell,  the  Irish  mare  already  mentioned. 

The  following  description  of  Leopard,  one  of  the 
two  Arabian  horses  presented  to  General  Grant  by  the 
Sultan  in  1876,  indicates  so  clearly  certain  points  of  a 
good  horse,  and  especially  of  a  good  saddle  horse,  that 
I  cannot  forbear  quoting  it  in  full.1 

"  In  front  of  the  stables  (at  Ash  Hill,  near  Washing- 
ton), upon  a  beautiful  table-land  overlooking  acres  of 
meadow  pasturage  with  scattered  barns  and  hay-ricks, 
was  a  level  spot  of  close  fine  turf,  splendid  to  show 
horses  upon.  Upon  this  the  colored  groom  Addison 
led  out  the  Arab,  Leopard.  He  was  a  beautiful 
dapple-gray,  fourteen  and  three  quarters  hands  high ; 
his  symmetry  and  perfectness  making  him  appear 
much  taller.  As  he  stood  looking  loftily  over  the 
meadows  below,  I  thought  him  the  most  beautiful 
horse  I  had  ever  seen.  With  nostrils  distended  and 
eyes  full  of  fire,  I  could  imagine  he  longed  for  a  run 

1  It  is  taken  froni  Mr.  Randolph  Huntington's  interesting  book, 
"  General  Grant's  Arabian  Horses." 


SADDLE    HORSES.  155 

in  his  desert  home.  Addison  gave  him  play  at  the 
halter,  and  he  showed  movements  no  horse  in  the 
world  can  equal  but  the  pure-bred  Arabian.  He 
needed  no  quarter-boots,  shin-boots,  ankle-boots,  scalp- 
ing-boots,  or  protections  of  any  kind;  and  yet  the 
same  movements  this  Arabian  went  through  would 
have  blemished  every  leg  and  joint  upon  an  American 
trotting  horse,  even  though  he  had  been  able  to  at- 
tempt the  impossible  activity. 

"  He  was  now  brought  to  a  stand-still  that  I  might 
examine  him ;  not  cocked  on  one  leg,  pointed  in  an- 
other, or  straddled,  as  our  horses  would  be  after  such 
violent  exercise,  but  bold  and  erect  on  all  fours,  as 
when  first  led  out. 

"  I  began  at  his  head.  The  ear  was  very  small  and 
fine,  much  as  it  was  in  old  Henry  Clay.  The  muzzle 
was  small  and  fine,  the  mouth  handsome  and  lips  very 
thin,  as  were  the  nostrils.  Between  the  eyes  he  was 
full  and  broad,  while  the  eyes  themselves  were  large, 
brilliant,  and  of  the  speaking  kind.  I  lifted  the  lids, 
and  they  too  were  thin  and  delicate,  not  coarse  and 
heavy,  as  in  our  big-mouthed,  thick-lipped,  long, 
heavy-eared  American  horse.  The  jowls  were  very 
deep,  but  wide  between  (the  peculiarity  so  much  con- 
demned in  Henry  Clay).  The  windpipe  was  large 
and  free,  running  low  into  the  breast.  The  neck  was 
beautifully  arched,  giving  the  impression  of  a  thin 
crest,  which  I  expected  to  find  from  numerous  writers' 
reports.  Imagine  my  surprise  when,  upon  running 
my  hand  from  between  the  ears  down,  I  found  a 
big,  thick,  hard  crest,1  as  if  a  three  or  even  four  inch 
new  cable  rope  were  inside.     This  was  exactly  such  a 

1  This  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Barb,  but  not  of  the  Arab. 


156  ROAD,   TRACK,   AND    STABLE. 

crest  as  was  in  old  Henry  Clay,  —  it  lopped  over  like 
a  bag  of  meal  with  old  age ;  and  I  remembered  having 
an  old  Messenger  stalliou,  years  before,  with  exactly 
such  a  crest,  which,  falling  over  in  the  same  way  with 
age,  was  a  great  torment  to  my  pride. 

"  The  fetlocks  could  not  be  found  ;  there  were  none. 
The  warts  at  point  of  ankle  were  wanting,  and  the 
osselets  were  very  small.  Large  coarse  osselets  show 
cold,  mongrel  blood.  .  .  .  The  mane  was  very  fine  and 
silky,  falling  over  so  as  to  cause  one  to  believe  the 
crest  was  a  knife-blade,  with  blade  up,  for  thinness. 
.  .  .  ]STow  for  his  gaits.  I  had  Addison  lead  him  on 
the  walk  to  and  from  me,  sav  a  distance  of  two  or 
three  hundred  feet,  that  I  might  see  the  position  of 
his  feet  in  walking.  There  was  no  twisting  behind, 
nor  paddle  in  front,  but  straight,  clean,  elastic  step- 
ping. I  now  had  him  pass  me  at  the  side,  that  I 
might  see  his  knee,  and  his  hock  and  stifle  action. 
Prom  the  walk  I  had  him  moved  upon  the  trot,  and  at 
either  walk  or  trot  every  movement  was  perfect.  The 
knee  action  was  beautiful ;  not  too  much,  as  in  our 
toe-weighted  horses,  nor  stiff  and  staky,  as  in  the 
English  race  horse,  but  graceful  and  elastic,  beauti- 
fully balanced  by  movement  in  the  hock  and  stifle." 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  I  think,  that  the  Arab  horse 
has  no  superior  for  what  might  be  called  miscella- 
neous saddle  use,  and  in  particular  for  polo.  Many 
of  the  best  polo  ponies  in  England  are  pure  Arabs, 
and  others  are  partly  of  Arab  blood.  The  English 
polo  players  state,  moreover,  that  the  Arab  bred 
ponies  are  instructed  in  the  game  more  easily  and 
quickly  than  any  others. 

In  this  country  the  first  breed  of  saddle  horses  was 


SADDLE    HORSES.  157 

that  of  the  Narragansett  pacers.  These  horses  appear 
to  have  resembled  very  closely  the  palfrey  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  and  they  were  developed  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, namely,  as  a  means  of  easy  locomotion  at  a  time 
when  roads  were  bad  and  vehicles  uncomfortable. 
The  Narragansett  pacers  were  in  their  heyday  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  they  origi- 
nated, as  the  name  implies,  in  Rhode  Island,  not  far 
from  Newport.  "They  carried,"  said  a  writer  in 
the  North.  American  Review  many  years  ago,  "fair 
equestrians  from  one  to  another  of  the  many  hospi- 
table dwellings  scattered  over  the  fields  of  ancient 
Aquidneck  in  Bishop  Berkeley's  time." 

How  these  horses  were  bred  cannot  now  be  discov- 
ered. There  is  a  tradition,  which  Frank  Forester 
seems  to  accept,  that  they  were  of  Spanish  origin; 
and  there  is  reason  to  think  that  the  place  of  their 
breeding  was  that  long  neck  of  land  on  Narragansett 
Bay  known  as  Point  Judith,  —  the  scene  of  many  a 
shipwreck.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury there  flourished  one  John  Hull,  a  rich  and  pious 
merchant  of  Boston,  at  one  time  Treasurer  of  the  Col- 
ony. In  a  letter  written  in  1677  to  one  who  owned 
the  tract  just  mentioned  jointly  with  himself,  Mr.  Hull 
proposed  to  shut  it  off  from  the  mainland  by  a  stone 
wall,  "that  no  mongrel  breed  might  get  thereon,"  and 
in  the  enclosure  thus  made  to  rear  "a  very  choice 
breed   for  coach  horses,  some  for   the    saddle,  some 

for  draught." 

Mr.  Hull,  it  thus  appears,  contemplated  the  rearing 
of  harness  as  well  as  saddle  horses,  and  it  is  a  fact, 
gathered  from  the  custom-house  records,  that  carriage 
horses  as  well  as  pacers  were  afterward  numerously 


158         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

exported  from  Rhode  Island.  The  only  evidence, 
however,  that  I  can  find,  tending  to  show  that  Mr. 
Hull's  project  was  carried  out  is  the  following  in- 
dignant and  righteous  letter  written  by  him  some 
years  later  to  one  William  Heffernan :  "  I  am  in- 
formed that  you  are  so  shameless  that  you  offered 
to  sell  some  of  my  horses.  I  would  have  you  know 
that  they  are  by  God's  good  providence  mine.  Do 
you  bring  me  in  some  good  security  for  my  money 
that  is  justly  owing,  and  I  shall  be  willing  to  give 
you  some  horses,  that  you  shall  not  need  to  offer  to 
steal  any." 

At  all  events,  the  Narragansett  pacers  had  a  wide 
reputation,  and  were  sold  in  great  numbers.  In  an 
account  of  the  American  Colonies,  published  at  Dub- 
lin in  1753,  and  written  by  a  clergyman  of  the  English 
Church,  we  find  the  following :  "  The  produce  of 
this  Colony  [Rhode  Island]  is  principally  butter  and 
cheese,  fat  cattle,  wool,  and  fine  horses,  that  are  ex- 
ported to  all  parts  of  the  English  Americas.  They 
are  remarkable  for  fleetness  and  swift  pacing;  and 
I  have  seen  some  of  them  pace  a  mile  in  little  more 
than  two  minutes,  a  good  deal  less  than  three." 
This  last  statement  is  doubtless  exaggerated,  but  not 
more  so  than  is  to  be  expected  even  from  a  clergyman 
writing  about  horses. 

Since  the  Narragansett  pacers  became  extinct,  we 
have  had  no  family  of  horses  in  oSTew  England  bred 
especially  for  riding,  although  the  Morgans,  of  whom 
I  have  spoken  so  often  in  the  course  of  this  book,  are 
excellent  for  that  purpose.  The  trot  of  the  best  and 
lightest  Morgan  families  is  peculiarly  fit  for  the 
saddle,  being  short,  smooth,  and,  above  all,  extremely 
elastic. 


SADDLE    HORSES.  159 

This  quality  of  springiness  or  elasticity  is  almost, 
if  not  quite,  the  most  important  one  that  a  saddle 
horse  can  possess.  Certainly  as  regards  road  riding, 
an  elastic  trot,  whether  long  or  short,  is  the  best  gait 
for  pleasure  or  for  exercise,  or  for  accomplishing  a 
distance.  No  attention  whatever  has  been  paid  dur- 
ing the  past  fifty  years  to  the  production  of  a  Mor- 
gan saddle  horse,  but  the  breed  still  contains  the 
material  for  a  quick-stepping,  tough,  and  showy  ani- 
mal very  well  adapted  for  city  and  suburban  use,  — 
what  is  called  in  England  a  "hack."  Riding  in  the 
rural  districts  of  New  England  —  and  this  is  true  in 
almost  equal  degree  of  the  Middle,  and  perhaps  also 
of  the  Northwestern  States — is  nearly  a  lost  art. 
There  are  whole  townships  where  it  would  be  hard  to 
find  a  saddle,  unless  it  were  some  antiquated,  moth- 
eaten  contrivance,  covered  with  cobwebs  and  stowed 
away  in  a  hay-loft. 

The  equine  interests  of  New  England,  Boston  ex- 
cepted, all  centre  in  the  trotter.  But  this  was  not  so 
formerly.  Wherever  ten  men  of  Anglo-Saxon  blood 
are  gathered  together,  there  will  be  found  two  at  least 
who  love  horses,  and  to  whom  trials  of  speed  between 
horses  soon  become  a  necessity.  The  passion  for 
trotters  set  in  early  in  the  present  century,  but  before 
that  horse  racing  was  common  in  the  Eastern  States, 
as  elsewhere ;  and  well-bred  horses  from  Canada  were 
often  imported  for  riding  and  racing  purposes.  To 
this  fact,  indeed,  is  due  much  of  the  best  roadster 
blood  in  New  England.  The  Drew  family  thus  arose, 
and  some  of  the  swiftest,  handsomest  branches  of  the 
Morgan  family  derive,  on  the  maternal  side,  from 
well  bred  mares  of  English  stock  brought  from  Canada 
and  the  Provinces. 


160  fiOAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

The  sport  was  to  be  sure  severely  condemned  by  all 
serious  people,  and  no  church-member  could  attend  a 
horse  race  with  impunity.  Nevertheless  horse  racing 
sometimes  claimed  its  victims  among  the  very  elect. 
There  is  a  true  story  on  this  head  recorded  of  one 
Deacon  R.,  of  Bennington,  Vermont.  The  Deacon 
liked  a  good  horse,  and  always  had  in  his  barn  two 
or  three  animals  that  answered  this  description.  In 
particular,  about  the  year  1818,  he  owned  one  that 
was  known  to  be  a  very  fast  runner;  and  so,  when 
some  wicked  sporting  men  from  New  York  came  up 
to  Bennington  with  a  race  horse  which  they  offered 
to  match  against  anything  that  could  be  produced  in 
the  town,  the  wicked  Bennington  boys  bethought 
themselves  of  the  Deacon's  horse.  A  match  was 
made,  to  be  run  off  secretly,  in  the  dead  of  night,  and 
one  Martin  Scott  (who  afterward  became  a  gallant 
officer  in  the  United  States  Army)  was  selected  to 
borrow  and  ride  Deacon  R.'s  runner.  Accordingly,- 
M artin  Scott  burglariously  entered  the  stable  at  mid- 
night, muffled  the  animaFs  feet,  and  quietly  brought 
him  out  and  rode  him  to  the  track. 

The  race  was  over  a  mile  course,  and  all  went  well 
till  the  home  stretch  was  reached  ;  then  the  Benning- 
ton horse  fell  back,  and  it  looked  as  if  the  strangers 
would  win.  But  at  that  moment  the  Deacon  him- 
self, or  his  ghost,  rose  up  behind  the  fence,  and 
screamed  aloud,  "  Put  the  whip  to  him,  Martin  ;  put 
the  whip  to  him,  I  tell  you.'"  Martin,  though  seized 
with  a  great  fear,  retained  sufficient  presence  of  mind 
to  follow  these  providential  directions.  He  put  the 
whip  to  his  mount  vigorously,  and  won  the  race  by  a 
head.     Thereupon  Deacon  R.  appeared  on  the  track, 


SADDLE   HORSES.  161 

waving  his  hat  and  shouting  with  triumph  ;  but  pres- 
ently, recollecting  himself  and  his  deaconship,  he 
went  up  to  the  successful  jockey  and  exclaimed,  with 
every  indication  of  anger,  "  Martin  Scott,  you  young 
reprobate,  you  have  stolen  my  horse,  and  if  you  do 
not  immediately  return  him  to  the  stable,  and  give 
him  a  good  rubbing  down  I  shall  report  you  to  your 
father."  And  thus  the  Deacon  won  a  horse  race,  and 
still  preserved  his  standing  in  the  Church.  Never- 
theless, although  riding  steadily  declined  from  this 
time  on,  New  England  furnished  some  excellent  cav- 
alry in  the  Civil  War,  mounted  chiefly  on  Morgan 
horses  which  out-travelled  and  outlasted  the  larger 
but  less  enduring  animals  ridden  by  the  cavalry  regi- 
ments of  the  West. 

The  Narragansett  pacer  being  extinct,  and  the  Mor- 
gan trotter  undeveloped  as  a  saddler,  the  only  riding- 
horse  born  and  bred  in  the  United  States  is  now  to 
be  found  in  Kentucky.  Kentucky,  from  the  very 
beginning  of  her  history,  has  been  noted  for  well-bred 
horses,  especially  in  the  "  Blue  Grass  "  district.  A 
scientific  person  of  reputation  who  made  a  stud}T  of 
that  region  tells  us  that  there  are  certain  products  of 
the  land  which  indicate  infallibly  the  geological  forma- 
tion. Whenever,  he  relates,  he  met  a  tall,  handsome 
girl,  with  a  good  color  in  her  cheeks,  he  knew  that 
he  had  struck  the  Blue  Grass  belt,  with  its  lime- 
impregnated  soil,  and  there  was  no  need  to  pound 
the  rocks  with  his  hammer,  or  curiously  to  inspect 
the  earth.  The  girl  was  sufficient  evidence  of  lati- 
tude and  longitude  ;  and  with  her  went  rolling  fields 
of  rich  pasture,  substantial  barns,  and  paddocks  full 
of  high-born  colts  and  brood  mares.     The  State  was 

11 


162         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

settled  in  1775,  and  so  early  as  the  year  1802  a 
Frenchman  named  Michaux,  travelling  in  this  coun- 
try  on  a  behest  from  his  government,  reported  of 
Kentucky  that  "  almost  all  the  inhabitants  employ 
themselves  in  training  and  meliorating  the  breed  of 
horses."  And  he  describes  these  horses  as  bemsr 
"  elegantly  formed,  having  slim  legs  and  well-propor- 
tioned heads." 

Another  old  traveller,  writing  in  the  year  1818, 
declares :  "  The  horse,  '  noble  and  generous,'  is  the 
favorite  animal  of  the  Kentuckian,  by  whom  he  is 
pampered  with  unceasing  attention.  Every  person 
of  wealth  has  from  ten  to  thirty  of  good  size  and 
condition,  upon  which  he  lavishes  his  corn  with  a 
wasteful  profusion." 

Within  the  past  few  months  a  society  has  been 
organized  and  a  stud-book  established  in  the  interest 
of  the  Kentucky  saddle  horse,  a  dozen  stallions  being 
named  as  foundation  horses.1  About  half  of  these 
stallions  were  thoroughbred,  the  other  half  being  pa- 
cers of  mixed  breeding;  and  this  fact  indicates  the 
origin  of  the  Kentucky  saddler,  namely,  that  he  is  a 
cross  between  the  pacer  and  the  thoroughbred.  Most 
of  these  Kentucky  pacers  were  of  Canadian  stock, 
and  they  are  described  as  "  a  hardy,  substantial  race." 
It  was  from  this  same  stock  that  old  pacing  Pilot, 
whose  son  Pilot  Jr.  has  attained  reputation  as  a  pro- 
genitor of  trotters,  was  descended.     There  is  a  close 

1  Their  names  are  here  put  down: — Denmark,  by  imported 
Hedgeford ;  Brinker's  Drennan,  by  Davy  Crockett ;  Sam  Booker, 
by  Boyd  MeNary  ;  John  Dillard,  by  Indian  Chief;  Tom  Hal; 
Coleman's  Eureka ;  John  Waxey,  by  Vanmeter's  Waxey  ,  Cabell's 
Lexington,  by  Blood's  Black  Hawk;  Copperbottom ;  Stump  the 
Dealer;  Texas,  by  Comanche;  and  Prince  Albert,  bv  Frank 
Wolford 


SADDLE    HORSES.  163 

relationship  in  some  cases  between  Kentucky  trotters 
and  saddlers.  Thus  the  thoroughbred  John  Dillard 
has  sired  the  dams  of  many  trotters ;  and  not  a  few 
trace  to  Denmark.  Deumark,  also  a  thoroughbred, 
was  a  black  horse  of  great  style  and  substance,  and 
his  descendants,  as  a  rule,  take  after  him  in  a  marked 
degree.  Denmark  founded  the  chief  saddle  strain 
in  Kentucky.  Tom  Hal,  the  saddle  stallion,  is  of 
the  same  family  as  Tom  Hal,  Brown  Hal,  and  Hal 
Pointer,1  pacers  of  celebrity  on  the  track. 

The  old-time  Kentucky  pacer  afforded  the  chief 
means  of  locomotion  in  that  State,  the  highways  being 
scarcely  fit  for  wheeled  vehicles.  Only  a  few  years 
ago,  it  was  proposed  to  build  a  good  turnpike  from  a 
certain  "  back "  county  to  the  nearest  railroad ;  and 
a  provident  farmer  of  the  old  school  was  called  upon 
to  assist  the  project  with  a  contribution.  But  he  re- 
fused. The  intention  was  to  build  a  "  twelve-foot " 
pike  ;  and  the  farmer  rebelled  at  such  extravagance. 
A  three-foot  track  was  wide  enough,  he  declared,  for 
his  horse,  and  anything  more  was  superfluous.  "  The 
old  saddler,"  writes  a  modern  Kentuckian,  "  shuffled 
along  the  path  where  it  was  level,  and  went  a  half 
trot  over  the  hills.  He  suited  the  country  folk  well 
in  that  day,  but  would  be  out  of  place  now."  The 
word  "  shuffling "  aptly  describes  the  pace,  which  is 
an  awkward,  inelegant  gait.  It  was  the  same  in  the 
old  Kentucky  pacers  that  it  is  in  the  modern  pacer  of 
the  race  course,  but  when  the  Kentucky  half-bred  sad- 
dler came  into  being  this  ugly  gait  was  supplemented 
by  one  smoother  and  more  graceful. 

1  Since  this  chapter  was  put  in  type,  Hal  Pointer  has  paced  a 
mile  in  2.05J. 


164         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

The  modern  Kentucky  saddle  horses  are  taught  the 
following  gaits  :  —  (1.)  The  flat-footed  walk,  or  ordi- 
nary walk.  (2.)  The  running  walk.  (3.)  The  amble. 
(4.)  The  rack  or  single  foot,  (o.)  The  trot.  (6.)  The 
canter.     (7.)  The  gallop. 

The  running  walk  is  simply  the  ordinary  walk  ac- 
celerated. An  ambitious  colt  ridden  toward  home, 
kept  back  from  a  faster  gait,  but  urged  to  walk  more 
speedily,  Avill  gradually  fall  into  it.  The  action  is 
more  springy  and  pronounced  than  that  of  the  ordi- 
nary walk,  but  mechanically  it  is  the  same.  The 
sensation  it  transmits  to  the  saddle  is  a  very  slight 
up  and  down  motion.  A  Kentucky  horse  will  run- 
ning-walk at  the  rate  of  five  or  five  and  a  half  miles 
an  hour,  and  keep  it  up  all  day  without  fatigue  to 
himself  or  to  the  rider. 

The  amble  is  a  slow  pace,  both  near  feet  leaving 
the  ground  and  returning  to  it  simultaneously,  fol- 
lowed by  both  off  feet  also  moving  together.  The 
amble  is  a  gait  of  about  four  and  a  half  miles  per 
hour,  and  it  communicates  to  the  saddle  a  slight 
rocking  motion. 

In  the  rack  or  single  foot  the  feet  follow  each  other 
at  equal  intervals  (or  half-intervals),  there  being  twice 
as  many  hoof-beats  as  there  would  be  at  a  trot  or  pace 
of  the  same  speed.  In  other  words,  the  two  near  feet 
do  not  strike  the  ground  together,  as  in  a  pace,  but  at 
regular  intervals.  The  sound  of  the  footfalls  is  one, 
two,  three,  four,  instead  of  one,  two,  as  it  would  be  in 
the  same  period  of  time  at  a  pace.  This  is  the  smooth- 
est of  all  gaits.  "You  are  sitting  in  an  arm-chair," 
remarks  Colonel  T.  A.  Dodge,  to  whom  I  am  indebted 
for  these  particulars,  "  at  a  speed  of  from  seven  to  fif- 


SADDLE    HORSES.  165 

teen  miles  an  hour."  And  lie  adds  :  "  I  once  owned  a 
racker  who  could  do  a  full  mile  in  three  minutes  un- 
der  the  saddle,  and  you  could  carry  a  tumbler  full  of 
Wetter  in  your  hand  without  spilling  a  drop  of  it." 

The  trot  requires  no  description.  In  this  gait  the 
off  fore  foot  and  the  near  hind  foot  strike  and  leave 
the  ground  exactly  together,  followed  by  the  near 
fore  and  off  hind  foot. 

The  canter  is  not  considered  perfect  in  a  Kentucky 
horse  until  he  can  perform  it  at  a  rate  no  faster  than 
a  fast  walk.  To  "  canter  all  day  in  the  shade  of  an 
apple  tree,"  is  a  well  known  saying.  On  this  head 
an  old  trainer  informs  me,  "I  have  taught  horses 
to  canter  around  a  pole  which  I  held  in  my  hand 
with  one  end  planted  in  the  ground."  A  well-broken 
Kentucky  horse  will  of  course  change  lead  in  the 
canter,  and  start  with  either  foot  leading,  at  the  will 
of  the  rider. 

The  gallop  is  an  inartificial  gait,  and  belongs  rather 
to  hunters  and  to  polo  ponies  than  to  the  saddle  horse 
proper.  "  It  may  be  used  occasionally,"  states  a  high 
school  enthusiast,  "  but  no  one  goes  galloping  along 
the  road  except  a  Sunday  rider." 

Of  course  it  is  no  advantage  to  have  a  horse  with 
all  these  gaits  unless  the  rider  is  skilful  enough  to 
keep  them  separate.  If  the  man  is  less  instructed 
than  the  horse,  a  sad  confusion  of  paces  is  apt  to 
obtain.  On  the  whole,  a  well-bitted,  well-suppled 
horse,  with  a  good  trot  and  a  good  canter,  would  be 
more  useful  to  the  ordinary  rider  than  would  one  of 
these  highly  accomplished  saddlers.1 

1  The  readiness  with  which  Kentuckians  accommodate  them- 
selves to  the  New  York  market  may  be  gathered  from  the  follow- 


166         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

The  Kentucky  horses  are  handsome  and  docile,  and 
they  jump  well.  Some  of  them  are  up  to  a  great 
weight.  I  have  seen  one  in  particular  that  weighed 
about  twelve  hundred  pounds,  a  smoothly  turned, 
round  built  horse,  of  proud  and  lofty  carriage,  fit  to 
carry  a  commander-in-chief ;  instructed  in  the  move- 
ments of  the  haute  ecole,  and  so  thoroughly  disciplined 
that  his  owner  as  he  sat  in  the  saddle  was  able  to 
crack  an  enormous  whip  over  the  horse's  head  with- 
out causing  him  to  budge  an  inch.  I  have  another  in 
my  stable  at  this  moment,  a  coal-black  fellow,  standing 
about  16.1,  and  weighing  at  least  twelve  hundred 
pounds,  with  a  powerful,  sloping  shoulder,  high 
withers,  and  a  short  back,  capable  of  sustaining  the 
heaviest  rider.  This  horse  has  a  long,  curved  neck, 
finely  cut  ears,  powerful  hind  quarters,  and  a  gentleness 
and  intelligence  that  I  have  never  seen  surpassed. 

Another  type  of  the  Kentucky  saddle  horse  is  ex- 
hibited in  a  beautiful  little  bay  mare,  called  Pea 
Vine,  bred  by  Colonel  T.  A.  Dodge.     She  is  a  tough, 

iug  humorous  remarks,  which  I  quote  from  a  newspaper  published 
iu  the  heart  of  the  Blue  Grass  region  :  — 

"  A  new  kind  of  saddler  has  come  into  fashion  of  late,  known  as 
the  Parker,  or  New  York  saddler.  A  class  of  business  men  in 
the  East  want  something  to  jolt  up  their  livers  and  give  them  a 
deal  of  exercise  on  a  short  road  or  in  the  parks.  The  gait  can 
scarcely  be  described,  and  should  be  seen  to  be  appreciated.  It 
requires  a  high  degree  of  intelligence  in  the  horse  to  enable  him 
to  acquire  it.  He  must  cross  his  feet,  take  short,  high  steps,  and 
come  down  hard  ;  he  must  go  backward  as  well  as  forward,  side- 
wise,  and  obliquely.  He  must  cut  up  all  sorts  of  didos.  The 
combination  of  a  business  man  who  does  n't  know  anything  about 
riding,  a  plug  hat,  and  a  trained  '  Parker  '  would  draw  in  any 
Kentucky  town  almost  like  a  circus.  But  then  we  have  them. 
Our  horsemen  can  put  up  anything  in  their  line  that  the  trade 
demands." 


SADDLE    HORSES.  167 

wiry,  nervous  creature,  always  dancing  about  on  her 
small  feet,  and  arching  her  thin  neck,  but  perfectly 
tractable.  Pea  Vine,  like  the  other  two  horses  just 
mentioned,  goes  well  in  harness. 

We  have  one  more  breed,  if  not  of  saddle  horses,  at 
least  of  saddle  ponies,  namely,  the  broncos.  The 
bronco,  a  rat  of  a  horse,  with  ewe  neck,  a  hammer 
head,  a  short  hip,  and  an  easy,  loping  gait,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  descended  chiefly  from  Spanish  horses 
brought  to  this  continent  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
Privation  and  cold  have  reduced  him  iti  size,  stripped 
him  of  all  purely  ornamental  parts  and  qualities, 
and  developed  his  capacity  for  endurance. 

"The  toughness  and  strength  of  the  bronco,"  writes 
Colonel  T.  A.  Dodge  in  an  interesting  paper,1  "  can 
scarcely  be  exaggerated.  He  will  live  through  a  win- 
ter that  will  kill  the  hardiest  cattle.  He  worries 
through  the  long  months  when  the  snow  has  covered 
up  the  bunch  grass,  on  a  diet  of  cottonwood  boughs, 
which  the  Indian  cuts  down  for  him ;  and  in  the 
spring  it  takes  but  a  few  weeks  for  him  to  scour  out 
into  splendid  condition." 

Another  writer,  Colonel  R.  I.  Dodge,  relates  that  a 
pony  carried  the  mail  three  hundred  miles  in  three 
consecutive  nights,  and  back  over  the  same  road  the 
next  week,  and  kept  this  up  for  six  months  without 
loss  of  condition. 

"  The  absence  of  crest  in  the  pony,"  Colonel  T.  A. 
Dodge  continues,  "  suggests  the  curious  query  what 
has  become  of  the  proud,  arching  neck  of  his  ancestor, 
the  Barb.  There  are  two  ways  of  accounting  for  this. 
The  Indian's  gag-bit,  invariably  applied  with  a  jerk, 

1  Harper's  Magazine  for  May,  1891. 


168         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

throws  up  the  pony's  head,  instead  of  bringing  it 
down,  as  the  slow  and  light  application  of  the  school 
curb  will  do,  and  this  tends  to  develop  the  ewe  neck. 
Or  a  more  sufficient  reason  may  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  starvation  which  the  pony  annually  under- 
goes in  the  winter  months  tends  to  deplete  him  of 
eveiy  superfluous  ounce  of  flesh.  The  crest  in  the 
horse  is  mostly  meat,  and  its  annual  depletion  has 
finally  brought  down  the  pony's  neck  nearer  to  the 
outline  of  the  skeleton."  The  latter  is  doubtless  the 
true  explanation. 

It  is  astonishing  what  effect  cold  and  privation 
have  in  stunting  the  growth  of  horses,  and,  conversely, 
how  quickly  warm  housing  and  abundant  food  will  in- 
crease the  size  of  a  small  breed.  Some  interesting 
experiments  of  this  nature  have  recently  been  tried 
with  broncos.  It  was  found  that  colts  by  a  thorough- 
bred sire  and  out  of  a  bronco  dam  grew  no  bigger  than 
the  ordinary  bronco  when  they  were  subjected  to  a 
like  degree  of  exposure  and  of  comparative  starvation ; 
whereas  colts  bred  in  the  same  way,  but  housed  and 
fed  in  the  winter  season,  grew  very  much  larger.  It 
is  a  question,  however,  whether  these  more  delicately 
nurtured  horses  will  prove  as  strong  and  tough  as 
the  others. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  what  is  the  relative  speed  of  the 
bronco.  Like  any  pony,  he  gets  into  his  stride  so 
quickly  that  he  might  for  a  short  distance,  as  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile,  beat  a  larger  horse,  even  a  thoroughbred. 
But  for  a  mile  or  more  the  thoroughbred  would  be  the 
faster,  and  when  it  comes  to  longer  distances,  the  re- 
sult would  probably  be  the  same.  Still,  there  is  some 
evidence  to  show  that  it  would   take    more  than  an 


SADDLE    HORSES.  169 

average  thoroughbred  to  beat  a  good  bronco  for  ten  or 
twenty  miles.  Many  years  ago,  an  army  officer  on 
the  plains  offered  to  match  his  charger,  a  Kentucky 
thoroughbred,  with  the  swiftest  pony  owned  by  a  cer- 
tain Comanche  tribe.  The  Comanches,  it  should  be 
added,  are  the  best  horsemen  of  their  race,  being  the 
only  Indians  who  show  any  fondness,  or  even  mercy, 
for  their  steeds,  or  any  skill  in  breeding  them.  Their 
favorite  color  is  the  piebald.  The  chief  accepted  the 
offer  on  one  condition,  namely,  that  the  race  should 
be  for  a  distance  of  not  less  than  fourteen  miles. 
This  match  never  came  off,  but  the  terms  made  by 
the  chief  are  significant  of  his  opinion  as  to  wherein 
lay  the  superiority  of  the  bronco. 

In  another  case  the  trial  was  actually  made.  Some 
Kickapoo  Indians,  who,  like  almost  all  red  men,  are 
desperate  gamblers,  bought  a  race  horse  of  a  white 
man  in  Missouri,  and  took  him  out  on  the  plains,  a 
journey  of  many  hundred  miles,  for  the  purpose  of 
matching  him  against  a  certain  Comanche  pony. 
They  used  great  care  with  the  horse,  carrying  with 
them  the  grain  and  hay  to  which  he  was  accustomed, 
and  they  were  perfectly  confident  of  success.  In  fact, 
they  proposed  to  bet  everything  that  they  owned  on 
the  result.  Each  man  wore  his  entire  wardrobe  on  his 
back,  —  an  Indian,  like  Lever's  Irishman,  puts  on  all 
his  finery  at  once,  —  and  they  converted  the  rest  of 
their  property  into  a  drove  of  ordinary  horses,  which 
they  took  along  to  wager  with  the  Comanches.  But 
the  Comanche  pony  won,  and  the  Kickapoo  Indians 
returned  on  foot,  and  nearly  naked. 

In  many  parts  of  the  West,  broncos  are  driven  as 
well  as  ridden,  and  a  pair  of  them  harnessed  to  a  light 


170  ROAD,   TRACK,   AND   STABLE. 


carriage  make  an  excellent  team  for  long  journeys. 
In  the  early  days  of  California,  the  fast  stage-coaches, 
famous  for  tearing  down  mountain  roads  and  skirting 
the  edges  of  a  precipice,  were  horsed  chiefly,  if  not  en- 
tirely, by  broncos.  But  the  endurance  of  this  animal 
as  a  roadster  has  been  exaggerated.  The  truth  is  that 
broncos  are  ridden  and  driven  great  distances  in  a  day, 
not  so  much  because  they  can  accomplish  the  task 
with  impunity,  as  because  they  are  cheap,  and  their 
owners  are  cruel.  If  a  bronco  is  ruined  by  a  long 
drive,  it  is  easy  to  replace  him. 

Broncos  are  commonly  intelligent,  but  they  are  also 
apt  to  be  vicious.  In  fact,  the  breaking  which  they 
undergo,  and  which  has  been  practised  upon  many 
generations  of  their  ancestors,  could  hardly  fail  to 
leave  them  otherwise  than  vicious.  "  Buffalo  Bill ' 
has  made  the  buck-jumping  of  a  bronco  familiar  to 
the  people  of  two  continents.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  make 
them  go  safely  in  harness.  A  neighbor  of  mine  once 
hitched  to  a  light  road-cart  a  pony  that  had  been  rid- 
den for  some  years.  He  took  many  precautions  in 
the  way  of  straps  and  ropes,  so  that  kicking  was  ren- 
dered impossible.  Finally,  when  all  was  ready,  he 
mounted  the  cart  and  drove  qui#;ly  out  of  the  yard. 
I  watched  him  as  far  down  the  road  as  I  could  see, 
and  no  old  horse  could  have  gone  more  steadily  or 
better  than  this  bronco.  But,  as  it  soon  appeared, 
he  was  only  biding  his  opportunity.  When  he  came 
to  a  bridge  over  a  river,  which  he  had  often  crossed 
before,  the  pony  without  the  least  warning,  jumped 
the  rail,  taking  man  and  cart  along  with  him,  and 
dropped  the  whole  establishment  in  the  flood.  It  was 
in  the   spring,  and    ice  was  running,  but  with  some 


SADDLE    HORSES.  171 

difficulty  the  horse,  as  well  as  the  man,  was  rescued ; 
and  this  was  his  last  as  well  as  his  hrst  appearance  in 
harness. 

The  best  polo  ponies  bred  in  America  are  broncos 
crossed  with  thoroughbred  stallions,  and  they  are 
raised  chiefly  in  Texas.  I  am  aware  that  some  horse- 
men believe  the  pure  bronco,  in  his  best  form,  to  be 
equal  in  capacity,  and  even  in  "  quality,"  to  these 
half-bred  ponies,  —  a  fact  which  they  explain  by  his 
descent  from  Spanish  horses  or  Barbs.  So  far  as 
speed  is  concerned,  this  may  be  true.  Pale-Face,  an 
unmitigated  bronco  from  Wyoming,  won  a  race  at 
Boston  in  1891 ;  but  I  doubt  the  existence  of  bron- 
cos having  the  quality  and  docility  of  the  bronco- 
thoroughbred. 

Some  of  the  most  charming  pieces  of  horseflesh 
that  I  have  ever  known  w^ere  half-bred  polo  ponies. 
Schoolmaster,1  winner  of  all  the  prizes  for  which  he 
was  eligible  at  the  Boston  Horse  Show  of  1890,  is  an 
example.  Schoolmaster,  a  medium-sized  brown  pony 
with  a  plain  but  good  head  and  an  intelligent  eye, 
has  the  strength  of  a  little  cart  horse  and  the  speed  of 
a  deer.  He  weighs  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 
His  legs  and  feet  are  perfect ;  cannon  bones  short ; 
hind  quarters  well  let  down  ;  and,  above  all,  he  satis- 
fies the  supreme  test  that  used  to  be  applied  by  a 
famous  judge  of  race  horses  in  England,  for  "  he 
stands  pretty \n  Schoolmaster  is  "up"  to  a  weight  of 
two  hundred  pounds,  and  has  carried  it  for  several 
seasons  without  sustaining  puff  or  splint.  There  are 
few  ponies,  however,  of  which  so  much  can  be  said. 
Their  short,  strong  backs,  and  great  courage  enable 

1  The  property  of  S.  D.  Warren,  Esquire. 


172         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

them  to  carry  heavy  men,  but  the  work  injures  them. 
Splints  and  strained  cords,  especially,  of  course,  in  the 
fore-legs,  tell  the  tale  at  the  end  of  a  season. 

A  good  part  of  Schoolmaster's  power  —  and  in  a 
less  degree  this  is  true  of  polo  ponies  generally  —  lies 
in  the  muscles  of  his  back.  These  are  so  powerful, 
that  when  he  shies,  or  even  meditates  doing  so,  the 
rider  feels  as  if  there  were  a  group  of  radiating  steel 
springs  beneath  the  saddle,  which,  if  their  full  power 
were  expended,  might  shoot  him  off  into  space. 
Schoolmaster,  however,  is  a  very  tractable  animal ;  he 
has  been  known  to  run  away  out  of  high  spirits,  but 
by  a  good  rider  he  is  easily  controlled  with  a  snaffle, 
or  even  with  a  straight  bit.  In  fact,  the  tempers  and 
dispositions  of  these  half-bred  polo  ponies  are  almost 
invariably  good.  They  are  high-strung,  nervous,  and 
extremely  sensitive,  requiring  very  gentle  treatment. 
I  have  known  one  that  would  tremble  if  a  horse 
sneezed  in  the  box  next  to  her.  Indeed,  so  far  as 
mental  qualities  go,  the  thoroughbred  element  seems 
completely  to  predominate  in  their  composition.  But 
they  are  not  so  tough  as  might  be  expected,  being 
poor  eaters  of  hay,  and  rather  sensitive  to  cold.  I 
have  sometimes  thought  that  their  manner  of  life  at 
the  East  does  not  suit  them.  In  their  colthood,  at 
the  West,  they  live  outdoors  the  year  round,  wear 
no  blankets,  and  get  little  if  any  grain.  It  may  be 
that  the  change,  often  a  sudden  one,  to  the  housing, 
blanketing,  and  high  feeding  which  they  receive  here, 
tends  to  impair  their  stoutness. 

Broken  to  harness,  these  American  polo  ponies  go 
well  and  steadily,  and  their  short,  easy  trot,  closely 
resembling   that  of   the  Morgan  horse,  carries  them 


SADDLE    HORSES.  17-j 

over  the  ground  at  a  rate  which  few  larger  horses 
can  equal  for  a  long  distance.  As  a  rule,  they  are 
not,  of  course,  fast  trotters,  but  I  know  of  one,  a 
half-bred  roan  pony,  with  a  beautiful  blood-like  head 
and  sloping  rump,  that  has  the  big,  wide  gait  of  a 
true  trotter.  This  pony,  I  have  no  doubt,  could  trot  a 
mile  in  three  minutes  or  better,  and  he  is  also  a  fast 
runner  and  a  good  jumper.  Occasionally,  one  finds 
among  these  half-bred  ponies  one  with  a  longer  back, 
lower-carried  head,  and  longer  neck  than  are  common, 
looking  exactly  like  a  diminutive  race  horse.  I  have 
ridden  one  such,  a  chestnut  mare,  extremely  nervous, 
thin-waisted,  long  and  low,  a  sort  of  toy  thorough- 
bred, highly  intelligent  and  capable  of  being  tamed 
and  taught  like  a  pet  dog.  But  this  pony  is  nearly 
clean  bred. 

A  writer  in  the  recent  Badminton  volume  on  "Elid- 
ing states  that  in  selecting  a  polo  pony  the  object 
should  be  to  get  one  resembling  as  closely  as  possible 
a  race  horse  in  petto.  It  is  dangerous  to  differ  in 
any  degree  from  so  high  an  authority,  but  I  should 
have  thought  that  the  ideal  polo  pony,  though  in 
other  respects  resembling  a  thoroughbred  race  horse, 
is  shorter  in  the  back.  Certainly  the  w^ork  is  so  dif- 
ferent  that  some  difference  in  construction  might  be 
presumed  to  exist.  The  polo  pony  must  be  a  weight- 
carrier.  It  is  notable,  also,  that  the  portraits  of  su- 
perior polo  ponies  given  in  the  Badminton  volume 
represent,  most  commonly,  short-backed  animals  ;  and, 
finally,  such  is  the  shape  of  the  Arab  and  of  the  Barb, 
—  both  of  which  breeds  furnish  excellent  polo  ponies. 

The  training  of  saddle  horses  is  a  matter  wTith 
which  I  shall  not  attempt  to  deal,  inasmuch  as  it  has 


174         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

recently  been  treated  by  more  than  one  good  writer 
and  thorough  horseman.1  American  horses  are  as  a 
rule  so  intelligent  and  well  disposed  that  they  are 
easily  taught  to  carry  a  man,  though  to  educate  any 
horse  in  the  niceties  of  the  art  requires  a  master 
hand.  The  chief  difficulty,  especially  if  the  animal 
be  at  all  nervous,  is  to  teach  him  to  stand  still  while 
being  mounted ;  and  this  should  be  a  long,  cautious 
process.  Mount  him  first  in  the  stable,  with  the 
groom  holding  him  by  the  head.  After  a  time,  let 
him  stand  free  while  you  mount ;  and,  later  on,  let 
the  man  hold  him  outside,  near  the  stable  and  facing 
it,  while  you  get  on.  And  so  by  degrees  accustom 
him  to  be  mounted  in  the  open. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  try  experiments  in  this 
or  in  any  other  matter  with  a  green  horse.  I  re- 
member that  many  years  ago,  riding  a  young  un- 
trained horse  alone  at  night,  it  occurred  to  me  that,  if 
I  got  off,  it  might  be  difficult  to  get  on  again.  From 
this  obvious  reflection,  it  was  but  a  step,  in  my  own 
mind,  to  a  well-grounded  suspicion  that  I  was  afraid 
to  try.  And  this  being  settled,  —  in  that  awful  forum 
which  we  all  carry  about  within  us,  —  it  appeared 
absolutely  necessary  that  I  should  dismount  then  and 
there  ;  and  so  off  I  jumped.  Getting  back  was,  as 
I  anticipated,  no  easy  task,  but  after  much  backing, 
shifting,  and  circling  about  the  road  on  the  part  of 
the  horse,  I  put  foot  in  stirrup  and  was  in  the  act  of 
throwing  my  right  leg  over  the  saddle.     Just  then, 

1  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  Badminton  volume  on  Riding 
and  Polo ;  to  "  Patroclus  and  Penelope,"  by  Colonel  T.  A.  Dodge ; 
to  "  Modern  Horsemanship,"  by  E.  L.  Anderson ;  and  to  "  Horse- 
manship for  Women,"  by  T.  H.  Mead. 


SADDLE    HORSES.  175 

however,  most  inconvenientl}',  the  beast  started  on 
a  dead  run,  and  I  found  myself  clinging  to  his  neck. 
This  was  bad,  but  worse  followed,  for  the  animal 
kicked  up  behind,  and  shot  me  off  so  that  I  turned 
a  somersault,  and  fell  on  my  back  in  the  highway. 
However,  I  pulled  myself  together,  walked  homeward 
a  mile,  the  horse  having  preceded  me,  found  him 
grazing,  and,  leading  him  up  to  a  convenient  hen 
house,  got  on,  to  my  surprise,  very  easily.  That 
same  night  I  mounted  the  same  horse  again,  first  in 
the  stable,  then  in  the  yard,  and  finally,  with  some 
difficulty,  in  the  street ;  but  for  months,  if  not  for 
years  afterward,  he  was  apt  to  resist  my  ascent  to 
the  saddle. 

This  misadventure  taught  me  two  lessons,  both  of 
which  I  commend  to  the  youthful  reader.  The  first 
is,  that,  in  mounting  a  horse  disposed  to  be  fractious 
or  restive,  the  main  thing  is  to  have  a  good  hold  on 
the  reins,  and  to  be  prepared  to  keep  him  in  check 
if  he  shows  any  disposition  to  bolt.  I  do  not  mean 
by  this  that  you  should  hang  on  to  the  bit  and 
drag  yourself  into  the  saddle  by  means  of  the  reins. 
Xothing  could  irritate  the  horse  more  than  that,  or 
tend  more  to  spoil  his  mouth.  But  you  should  have 
a  short,  firm  hold  of  the  reins,  and  be  ready,  men- 
tally, to  pull  him  up  if  he  should  start.  In  mount- 
ing such  horses,  it  is  important  to  move  quickly 
and  quietly ;  any  delay  or  clumsiness,  or  irresolution, 
might  easily  convince  the  horse  that  you  were  his 
inferior  at  the  game. 

The  second  and  more  general  lesson,  already  indi- 
cated, that  I  learned  from  my  nocturnal  experience 
is   the  folly  of   forcing  matters  with  young  horses, 


176  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

or  of  attempting  feats  out  of  mere  bravado,  though 
one's  self  be  the  only  spectator.  The  true  rule  is 
neither  to  go  out  of  your  way  to  meet  clanger,  nor 
to  decline  the  opportunity  when  it  comes.  Anybody 
who  is  much  in  the  saddle  will  sooner  or  later  find 
an  occasion  to  test  his  mettle ;  and  if  one  have  the 
happiness  to  play  polo,  or,  more  especially,  to  ride 
to  hounds,  such  occasions  will  be  frequent.  Of  all 
the  manly  arts,  horsemanship  is  the  one  where  mere 
strength  and  size  count  the  least,  and  skill  and  cour- 
age the  most. 

A  small,  weak  man  with  "hands'  can  manage  a 
beast  which  a  big,  strong  man  without  them  cannot 
keep  from  running  away.  On  the  other  hand,  muscle 
and  endurance  have  full  scope  in  the  saddle.  Asshe- 
ton  Smith  used  to  tumble  his  hunters  over  fences  too 
high  to  be  jumped  ;  for  nearly  fifty  years  he  averaged 
about  fifty  falls  a  season,  and  yet  he  never  received 
more  than  one  serious  injury.  Assheton  Smith  was 
a  born  fox-hunter ;  but  other  men,  handicapped  by 
nature,  have  shown  their  prowess  in  the  saddle.  To 
think  of  Anthony  Trollope,  riding  "  straight,  "  though 
old  and  half  blind,  and  souuding,  as  he  humorously 
said,  the  depths  of  every  ditch  in  Essex, — to  re- 
member such  achievements  is  to  raise  one's  standard 
of  human  courage  and  pertinacity. 

The  late  E.  H.  Dana  used  to  say  that  every  man 
ought  at  least  once  in  his  life  to  face  death.  For  the 
modern  man,  sport  must  commonly  supply,  if  not 
a  proximity  to  death,  at  least  a  certain  hardness  of 
experience  which  in  former  ages  war,  or  travel,  or 
tournaments,  or  duels  afforded.  There  is  a  keen  joy 
which    civilization    seems    to    whet,    rather   than   to 


SADDLE    HORSES. 


1T7 


deaden,  in  physical  exertion,  even  in  physical  fatigue, 
still  more  in  the  agony  of  a  contest.  It  is  good  and 
pleasant  to  put  on  the  gloves  and  face  an  antagonist 
some  ten  pounds  heavier  than  yourself,  who  would 
not  hesitate  to  send  in  a  stinging  straight  counter  on 
the  nose,  if  you  gave  him  the  opportunity ;  the  sensa- 
tion of  being  thrown  absolutely  on  your  own  resources 
under  these  circumstances  is  exhilarating  and  whole- 


some :    it 


is  good, 


also,  to  handle   a  shell 


in   rough 


water,  with  the  consciousness  that  the  least  mistake 
or  flurry  on  your  part  would  serve  to  capsize  or 
swamp    your    frail    craft ;    and 


good 


is    it 


nav 


best  of  all  —  to  bestride  a  young  and  fiery  horse, 
whose  safety  as  a  vehicle  depends  upon  your  power 
to  grip  him  with  leg  and  knee,  and  to  guide  and 
restrain  him  with  a  firm,  light  hand. 


%      Wff0 


/& 


VII. 


CARRIAGE  HORSES  AXD  COBS. 


A  SCIENTIFIC  person  once  declared  —  and  Mr. 
Ruskin  scornfully  rebuked  him  for  the  asser- 
tion—  that  the  amount  of  coal  consumed  in  any  given 
country  will  measure  the  degree  of  civilization  to 
which  it  has  attained.  The  same  remark  has  been 
made  in  regard  to  sulphuric  acid,  and  doubtless  it 
could  be  applied  to  many  other  commodities  with 
that  mixture  of  truth  which  is  sufficient  for  an  epi- 
gram. Of  carriage  horses,  for  example,  it  might  be 
said  that  their  quality  (if  not  their  quantity)  is  an 
index  of  civilization ;  for  the  carriage  horse  changes 
his  character  from  century  to  century,  almost  from 
year  to  year,  as  wealth  and  skill  augment,  as  high- 
ways improve,  as  vehicles  become  lighter,  as  railroads 
are  brought  into  play,  as  people  use  their  steeds  for 


CARRIAGE    HORSES   AND    COBS.  179 

pleasure  and  for  show  rather  than  for  long  and  ne- 
cessary journeys.  When  Horace  Walpole  paid  an 
electioneering  visit  to  the  country  in  17G1,  after  an 
absence  of  fifteen  years  or  so,  he  found  that  a  great 
improvement  had  taken  place,  and  he  explained  it 
as  follows :  — 

"  To  do  the  folks  justice,  they  are  sensible  and  rea- 
sonable and  civilized  ;  their  very  language  is  polished 
since  I  lived  aruOng  them.  I  attribute  this  to  their 
more  frequent  intercourse  with  the  world  and  the 
capital  by  the  help  of  good  roads  and  post  chaises, 
which,  if  they  have  abridged  the  King's  dominions, 
have  at  least  tamed  his  subjects." 

The  primitive  carriage  horse  was  a  pony,  unac- 
quainted with  grooming,  ignorant  even  of  the  taste  of 
oats ;  and  the  vehicle  that  he  drew  required  no  roads, 
a  path  through  the  forest  sufficing  for  its  progress. 
And  yet,  oddly  enough,  this  ancient  vehicle  is  still  em- 
ployed in  this  country.  Within  a  few  months  of  the 
present  writing,  I  have  seen  it  conveying  a  squaw  and 
a  papoose  around  the  circus  ring;  and  the  red  men 
have  constructed  it  in  that  identical  form  for  centu- 
ries, and  still  use  it  in  some  of  the  Western  reserva- 
tions. This  woodland  carriage  is  made,  as  doubtless 
the  reader  knows,  by  taking  a  couple  of  long  poles, 
and  affixing  them  to  the  horse's  neck  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  they  drag  on  the  ground  behind  his  heels, 
the  load  being  fastened  on  the  end  of  the  poles. 

Xext  to  these  tepee  poles,  as  the  Indians  call  them, 
or  trainaux  in  the  French  Canadian  tongue,  came,  in 
this  country,  the  sledge  of  the  Appalachians.  There 
are  old  men  still  living  in  the  mountains  of  Kentucky 
and  of  Tennessee  who  have  never  even  seen  a  wheeled 


180         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


,      iu^vh. 


vehicle.  They  use,  all  the  year  round,  a  sledge  made 
of  bent  saplings  fastened  with  wooden  pins  and  raw- 
hide thongs. 

The  invention  of  the  solid  disk-wheel  was  a  stroke 
of  genius  which  should  have  immortalized  the  name 
of  its  author,  and  yet  history  records  neither  that 
nor  his  nationality.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  he 
lived  thousands  of  years  before  the  Christian  era. 
The  disk-wheel  being  in  use,  ingenious  men  gradu- 
ally punched  holes  in  it  to  reduce  the  weight,  until  at 
last  they  arrived  at  the  modern  spoked  wheel.  Cen- 
turies more  elapsed  before  anything  that  can  be  dig- 
nified with  the  name  of  carriage  was  built.  It  was 
about  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  that 
carriages  were  first  used  by  the  nobility  in  England ; 
and  the  roads  were  so  bad  and  the  vehicles  so  heavy 
that  they  were  of  little  service  until  toward  the  end 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  A  contemporary  account 
of  the  city  of  London,  written  in  1550,  speaks  of  the 
streets  as  being  even  then  "very  foul,  full  of  pits 
and  sloughs,  very  perilous  and  noxious."  Fifty  years 
later,  coaches  had  become  so  numerous  that  a  bill  was 
introduced  in  Parliament  to  restrain  their  use,  one 
argument  in  its  favor  being  that  the  watermen  were 
losing  custom  because  people  travelled  by  the  road 
instead  of  by  river.  This  bill  was  rejected,  but  in 
1660  Parliament  reduced  the  number  of  coaches  in 
London  from  two  thousand  to  four  hundred.  About 
the  same  time,  the  present  custom  of  driving  for 
pleasure  and  for  show  in  Hyde  Park  was  established. 

But  until  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century 
coaches  and  chariots  must  have  afforded  very  rough 
riding ;  for  springs  were  not  invented  till  about  1665, 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  181 

and  in  their  first  form  they  appear  to  have  mitigated 
but  slightly  the  jolting  of  the  vehicle  to  which  they 
were  applied.  Pepys  speaks  of  riding  in  a  carriage 
thus  equipped  belonging  to  Colonel  Edward  Blount, 
which  Pepys  found  "  pretty  well,  but  not  so  easy  as 
he  pretends." 

How  far  from  easy  the  seventeenth  century  car- 
riages must  have  been  is  shown  by  the  numerous 
crude  inventions  that  were  made  from  time  to  time 
with  the  view  of  improving  them.  Evelyn,  for  exam- 
ple, in  the  year  1665,  records  the  following  in  his 
Diary :  — 

"  Sir  Richard  Bulkeley  described  to  us  a  model  of 
a  chariot  which  he  had  contrived,  which  it  was  not 
possible  to  overthrow  in  whatever  uneven  way  it  was 
drawn,  giving  us  a  wonderful  relation  of  what  it  had 
performed  in  that  kind,  for  ease,  expedition,  and 
safety ;  there  were  some  inconveniences  yet  to  be 
remedied :  it  would  not  contain  more  than  one  per- 
son, was  ready  to  take  fire  every  ten  miles,  and,  being 
placed  and  playing  on  no  fewer  than  ten  rollers,  it 
made  a  most  prodigious  noise,  almost  intolerable.  A 
remedy  was  to  be  sought  for  these  inconveniences/' 

If  this  astonishing  vehicle  was  really  considered 
wonderful  for  "ease  and  expedition,"  —  and  Mr. 
Evelyn  was  not  given  to  irony,  —  it  may  be  imagined 
what  were  the  qualities  of  the  ordinary  chariot,  upon 
which  it  was  supposed  to  be  an  improvement. 

But  whatever  the  ancient  carriage  lacked  in  com- 
fort, it  made  up  in  splendor.  It  was  richly  deco- 
rated, painted  in  gay  colors,  emblazoned  with  pictures, 
and  fitted  with  hangings  and  cushions  of  silk  and 
velvet. 


182         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

On  May-day,  in  particular,  it  was  the  custom  for 
everybody  who  owned  a  coach  to  go  abroad  in  it  with 
such  display  as  his  means  and  taste  would  permit. 
The  first  time  when  Pepys  took  part  in  this  fashion- 
able amusement  was  in  the  year  1669.  Shortly  be- 
fore, he  had  purchased  a  fine  coach,  and  had  it  painted 
in  yellow  and  silver,  and  he  had  also  paid  a  visit  to 
the  horse-market  at  Smithfield  of  which  he  wrote,  — 
and  there  is  nothing  archaic  in  the  remark,  —  "  Here 
do  I  see  instances  of  a  piece  of  craft  and  cunning  that 
I  never  dreamed  of  concerning  the  buying  and  choos- 
ing of  horses." 

Pepys  had  defended  himself  against  the  wiles  of 
the  jockeys  by  taking  along  one  Mr.  Ned  Pickering, 
a  gentleman  whose  counterpart  might  easily  be  found 
at  the  present  day.  Mr.  Pickering,  younger  son  of 
Sir  Gilbert  Pickering,  was  bred  to  the  law,  but  seems 
never  to  have  followed  that  or  any  other  profession, 
having  picked  up  a  living  m  devious  ways.  Koger 
Xorth  speaks  of  him  as  "a  subtle  fellow,"  — the  very 
description  of  a  successful  Jock.  And  this  subtlety 
appears  to  have  grown  upon  Mr.  Pickering  with  years, 
—  perhaps  by  reason  of  too  frequent  visits  to  Smith- 
field,  —  for  toward  the  close  of  his  life  he  tampered 
with  a  will  made  by  Sir  John  Cutts,  and,  being 
detected,  narrowly  escaped  imprisonment  for  the 
offence. 

By  advice  of  this  connoisseur,  Pepys  bought  a  pair 
of  fine  black  horses  at  a  cost  of  £50,  and  the  bargain 
seems  to  have  been  a  good  one,  for  the  Diary  there- 
after records  nothing  but  satisfaction  with  the  steeds, 
and  in  due  course  Pep}'s  made  Mr.  Pickering  a  slight 
present  in  recognition  of  his  services. 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  183 

The  new  coach-owner  thus  describes  his  first  May- 
day parade:  "And  so  anon  we  went  along  through 
the  town,  with  our  new  liveries  of  serge,  and  the 
horses'  manes  and  tails  tied  with  red  ribbons,  and  the 
standards  gilt  with  varnish,  and  all  clean,  and  green 
reines,  that  people  did  mightily  look  upon  us ;  and 
the  truth  is  I  did  not  see  any  coach  more  pretty, 
though  more  gay  than  ours,  all  the  day."  But  this 
was  not  his  first  appearance  in  Hyde  Park  in  his  own 
coach.  That  occurred  a  few  weeks  before,  and  Pepys 
has  described  it  thus :  "  Thence  to  Hyde  Park,  the 
first  time  we  were  there  this  year,  or  ever  in  our  own 
coach,  where,  with  might}'  pride,  rode  up  and  down, 
and  many  coaches  there ;  and  I  thought  our  horses 
and  coach  as  pretty  as  any  there,  and  observed  so 
to  be  by  others." 

Later  still,  toward  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  began  that  very  great  and  rapid  improve- 
ment—  noted,  as  we  have  seen,  by  Horace  Walpole  — 
m  highways,  vehicles,  and  horses,  Avhich  increased 
the  rate  of  travel  from  four  or  five  to  twelve  miles 
an  hour,  and  culminated  with  the  introduction  of 
railways. 

The  carriage  horse,  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  became 
lighter  and  more  active  according  as  the  weight  that 
he  had  to  draw,  and  more  especially  the  friction  of 
the  roadways,  diminished.  Originally  he  was  simply 
a  beast  of  burden,  the  first  English  carriage  horse 
being  of  the  old  black  cart  or  shire  horse  strain,  a 
huge,  ungainly  animal,  with  a  big  head  and  shaggy 
fetlocks.  Contemporary  with  the  cart  horse  coachers 
were  the  "•running  footmen,"  with  their  wands  of 
office.     The  chariots  which  they  attended  progressed 


184  ROAD,  TRACK,  ASD    STABLE 


,      iuav.1,, 


so  slowly  that  these  functionaries  could  easily  go 
ahead,  when  necessary,  and  engage  apartments  and 
refreshments  at  the  next  inn  where  a  stop  was  to  be 
made.  They  were  also  extremely  useful  in  putting 
their  shoulders  to  the  wheel,  when,  as  often  hap- 
pened, the  vehicle  stuck  in  a  rut  or  in  some  "  peril- 
ous slough."  Later,  in  the  seventeeth  century,  many 
Flemish  mares  were  imported  to  England  for  carriage 
horses.  They  had  more  style  and  quality,  but  lacked 
endurance,  as  Gervase  Markham  pointed  out  in  his 
well  known  work.  The  cream-colored  coach  horses, 
which  are  still  bred  in  the  Queen's  stables,  though 
they  have  seldom  been  used  since  the  death  of  Prince 
Albert,  are  descended  from  the  same  strain.  In 
France,  the  Xorman  breed  furnished  the  carriage 
horses  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries, 
and  one  writer  speaks  of  the  "  richly  mottled  grays  " 
that  drew  the  coach  of  Richelieu. 

It  is  an  apt  illustration  of  the  conservatism  which 
prevails  in,  or  perhaps  more  correctly  is  an  essential 
part  of,  forms  and  ceremonies,  that  the  state  carriage 
horse  of  England  has  always  been  a  century  or  so 
behind  the  times.  Shire  horses  were  used  to  draw 
Queen  Anne's  coach,  though  they  had  been  given  up 
by  private  persons  for  many  years  before  she  came  to 
the  throne ;  and  in  the  same  way.  during  the  present 
reign,  the  Hanoverian  horse  has  held  a  place  in  the 
royal  stables  to  which  he  is  entitled  only  on  the 
score  of  antiquity.  Another  similar  example  was  to 
be  found,  until  lately,  in  the  steeds  that  horsed  the 
chariots  of  the  Roman  cardinals.  These  too  were  of 
Flemish  origin,  "  of  great  size,  as  fat  as  prize  oxen, 
proud  and  prancing  at  starting,  —  all  action  and 
no  go." 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  185 

As  the  Flemish  mare  succeeded  the  shire  horse, 
so  the  Cleveland  bay  succeeded  aud  vastly  improved 
upon  the  Flemish  importation.  Cleveland  bays  are 
still  bred,  constituting  with  their  cousins,  the  York- 
shire coach  horses,  and  with  the  stout  fast-stepping 
hackneys,  the  three  strains  of  harness  horse  now 
to  be  found  in  England.  I  shall  have  a  word  to  say 
about  them  all. 

The  Cleveland  bays  originated,  as  the  name  imports, 
in  Cleveland,  a  district  of  the  East  Riding  of  York- 
shire, and  they  date  from  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Remotely,  they  sprang  from  a 
cross  between  the  native  black  cart  horse,  already 
mentioned,  and  the  thoroughbred ;  but  the  type  be- 
came a  fixed  one,  and  is  thus  described  by  Frank 
Forester :  — 

"The  Cleveland  bay,  in  its  natural  and  unmixed 
form,  is  a  tall,  powerfully  built,  bony  animal,  aver- 
aging, I  should  say,  15  hands  3  inches  in  height,  rarely 
falling  short  of  loh,  or  exceeding  16i  hands.  The 
crest  and  withers  are  almost  invariably  good;  the 
head  bony,  lean,  and  well  set  on.  Ewe  necks  are 
probably  rarer  in  this  family  than  in  any  other,  unless 
it  be  the  dray  horse,  in  which  it  is  never  seen.  The 
faults  of  shape  to  which  the  Cleveland  bay  is  most 
liable  are  narrowness  of  chest,  undue  length  of  body, 
and  thinness  of  the  cannon  and  shank  bones.  Their 
color  is  invariably  bay,  rather  on  the  yellow  bay  than 
on  the  blood  bay  color,  with  black  manes,  tails,  and 
legs.  They  are  sound,  active,  powerful  horses,  with 
excellent  capabilities  for  draught,  and  good  endurance 
so  long  as  they  are  not  pushed  beyond  their  speed, 
which  may  be  estimated  at  from  six  to  eight  miles  an 


186  ROAD,   TRACK,   AND    STABLE. 

hour  on  a  trot,  or  from  ten  to  twelve  —  the  latter 
quite  the  maximum  —  on  a  gallop,  under  almost  any 
weight." 

But  the  Cleveland  bay  did  not  long  continue  in  his 
original  form ;  there  were  more  and  greater  infusions 
of  thoroughbred  blood,  so  that  he  became  "finer," 
more  speedy,  a  little  longer  of  limb,  and  in  all  re- 
spects a  superior  animal  for  the  coach  and  the  saddle. 
The  country  gentlemen  were  great  breeders  and  users 
of  Cleveland  bays.  "  A  squire,"  it  is  said,  "  of  two  or 
three  thousand  a  year,  in  the  midland  or  northern 
counties,  did  not  consider  his  stable  furnished  with- 
out five  or  six  full-sized,  well-bred  coach  horses  " ; 
and  if  he  went  a  journey  of  fifty  or  seventy-five 
miles,  he  would  be  conveyed  not  only  in  his  own 
carriage,  but  by  his  own  steeds.  Noblemen  counted 
their  carriage  horses  by  the  score ;  for  in  those 
days  they  travelled  in  some  state.  Six-in-hand  for 
gala  or  ceremonious  occasions,  and  four  for  every-day 
purposes,  were  the  usual  number.  But  times  have 
changed.  "The  old  duke  always  journeyed  to  Lon- 
don with  six  post  chaises  and  four,  attended  by  out- 
riders. The  present  man  comes  up  in  a  first-class 
carriage  with  half  a  dozen  bagmen,  and  sneaks  away 
from  the  station  in  a  brougham,  smoking  a  cigar." 
The  reader  will  remember  that  even  Sir  Pitt  Crawley, 
most  penurious  of  men,  was  met  by  a  coach  and  four 
at  his  park  gates,  where  he  and  his  companion  Becky 
Sharp  had  been  set  down  by  the  stage. 

County  running  races  also  contributed  very  largely, 
though  indirectly,  to  the  improvement  of  carriage 
horses.  Local  magnates  liked  to  be  represented  at 
these  races  by  horses  of  their  own  breeding,  and  con- 


CARRIAGE    BORSES    AND    COBS.  187 

sequently  there  was  a  wide  diffusion  of  thoroughbred 
sires.  Under  these  influences,  the  improved  or  half- 
bred  Cleveland  bays  lost  their  distinctive  color  in  a 
large  degree,  chestnuts,  iron-grays,  roans,  and  dark 
browns  becoming  frequent  among  them.  Still,  there 
are  in  existence  even  at  the  present  time  many  Cleve- 
land bays  of  the  correct  color,  with  legs  black  from 
the  knee  down,  and  with  that  ''list,"  or  strip  of  black, 
running  from  the  withers  to  the  root  of  the  tail,  which 
is  considered  to  establish  beyond  a  doubt  the  purity 
of  their  blood.  A  dark  brown  coat  with  a  cinnamon 
muzzle  was  supposed  to  indicate  a  tough  and  hardy 
beast,  and  animals  thus  marked  are  seen  occasionally 
nowadays.  Blacks  were  the  least  common,  this  color 
being  avoided,  as  suggestive  of  a  cart  horse  origin,  un- 
less it  could  be  traced  directly  to  a  thoroughbred  sire. 
Particular  colors  came  to  be  associated  with  particular 
districts.  Thus,  in  one  neighborhood  it  would  be  the 
ambition  of  every  carriage  owner  to  have  a  gray  Sir 
AVilliam  or  a  brown  Sir  Peter,  as  the  case  might  be ; 
whereas  in  another  district  a  black  this  or  a  chestnut 
that  would  be  considered  an  indispensable  inmate  of 
a  gentleman's  stable. 

The  most  potent  influence  in  developing  the  car- 
riage horse  was,  however,  that  mania  for  fast  trav- 
elling in  coaches  and  post  chaises  which  could  be 
satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  ten  and  even  twelve 
miles  an  hour.  Anybody  who  has  actually  driven  ten 
or  twenty  miles  at  this  rate  in  a  light  carriage  —  not 
simply  heard  or  talked  about  it,  which  is  a  more  com- 
mon occurrence  —  can  imagine  what  a  task  it  was  for 
four  horses  to  travel  at  such  speed,  while  hauling  a 
load  of  four  tons  or  more.     Xothing  but  a  strong  dash 


188         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

of  thoroughbred  blood,  and  hardly  that,  could  supply 
the  requisite  wind  and  limb. 

One  of  the  best  of  those  colored  plates  that  illus- 
trate the  road  in  coaching  days  shows  both  what  kind 
of  horse  was  used,  and  what  was  the  effect  upon  him 
of  the  work.  It  is  a  picture  of  "  The  Xight  Team  " 
putting  to  in  the  frosty  moonlight  at  a  roadside  inn, 
while  a  few  passengers,  muffled  to  the  eyes,  shiver 
on  top  of  the  stage.  Three  of  the  four  horses,  the 
wheelers  and  the  off  leader,  are  bays,  —  broken  down, 
but  still  powerful.  The  ribs  clearly  show  through 
their  short,  nicely  groomed  coats ;  their  fine,  well-bred 
heads,  topped  by  small,  aristocratic  ears,  hang  mourn- 
fully down ;  their  knees  are  fearfully  sprung ;  their 
hind  legs  are  twisted  and  swollen.  Altogether,  they 
give  the  impression  of  having  accomplished  some 
tremendous  feats,  and  of  being  still  able  to  perform 
the  like  when  well  warmed  to  their  work.  The 
fourth  horse,  the  nigh  leader,  is  a  gray,  young  and 
sound,  but  vicious.  He  wears  a  broad  bandage  over 
his  eyes,  to  prevent  shying  at  "objects,"  and  two  or 
three  hostlers  are  struggling  to  get  him  within  the 
traces,  while  he  plunges  about  with  head  and  tail 
high  in  the  air.  The  fast  mail  coaches  broke  down 
many  good  horses  before  their  time ;  and  if  anybody 
had  upon  his  hands  an  unmanageable  brute,  such  as 
the  English  system  of  breaking  was  eminently  fitted 
to  produce,  he  doubtless  put  him  into  one  of  those 
horse-taming  and  horse-killing  machines. 

During  the  past  fifty  years  many  of  the  best  Cleve- 
land bays  have  been  exported,  —  so  many  that  the 
deficiency  in  the  London  market  has  been  supplied  in 
part  by  carriage  horses  brought  over  from  Germany. 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  189 

Xot  long  ago,  an  an  English  agricultural  journal  in- 
quired, with  much  feeling  and  with  less  attention  to 
grammar,  "  When  royalty  or  nobility  wants  a  pair  of 
upstanding  London  carriage  horses,  where  goes  the 
thousand  guineas  that  hardly  fetches  them?"  "Xot," 
answering  its  own  question,  uto  the  struggling  Eng- 
lish occupier,  but  to  the  broad  expanses  of  the  Conti- 
nent." Even  the  great  job-masters  of  London  (two 
of  whom  supply  no  less  than  five  hundred  pairs  of 
carriage  horses  each  to  their  customers,  not  counting 
single  brougham  and  victoria  horses)  had  recourse  at 
one  time  to  the  Flemish  horses.  They  were  cheap 
and  good-looking,  but  so  washy  and  soft,  so  deficient 
in  bone  and  endurance,  so  defective  in  those  very 
points  which  Gervase  Markham  condemned  in  them 
two  hundred  years  before,  that,  after  a  few  years' 
trial,  they  were  commonly  given  up  by  the  job- 
masters. 

Closely  allied  to  the  Cleveland  bays  are  the  York- 
shire coach  horses.  Separate  stud-books  are  main- 
tained in  England  for  these  families,  although  in 
many  instances  the  same  animal  is  recorded  in  both 
books,  whereas  in  this  country  one  compilation  of 
pedigrees  does  service  for  both  strains.  The  differ- 
ences between  them  are  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Burdett- 
Coutts  :  — 

"The  Cleveland  bays,  in  what  I  may  call  their 
aboriginal  form,  are  agricultural  horses,  with  plenty 
of  grand  points  in  their  frame,  but  with  no  elegance 
of  -turning,'  and  without  any  action,  and  therefore 
totally  unfitted  to  produce  from  themselves  alone  the 
big  carriage  horse.  The  Yorkshire  coach  horses  have 
both  the  qualities  above  referred  to,  but  they,  again. 


190  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

if  kept  to  themselves,  will  in  a  very  short  time  be- 
come high  on  the  leg  and  light  of  bone,  and  con- 
sequently equally  unfitted  to  draw  the  weight  of  a 
big  barouche  or  a  state  coach."  What  is  wanted,  he 
goes  on  to  say,  is  "the  big  harness  horse,  standing 
from  16  hands  to  16.2  in  height,  with  the  bone  and 
shortness  of  leg,  the  depth  and  grandeur  of  frame, 
which  are  in  the  Cleveland,  and  are  not  in  the  York- 
shire coach  horse ;  with  the  quality,  elegance,  and 
action  which  are  in  the  Yorkshire  coach  horse,  and 
not  in  the  Cleveland ;  and  with  the  '  long,  elegant 
top  line,'  which  is  only  produced  by  a  combination  of 
both." 

Both  the  Cleveland  bays  and  the  Yorkshire  coach 
horses  are  moderately  high  steppers,  and  usually 
incapable  of  a  really  fast  trot. 

A  third  family  of  carriage  horses  is  that  of  the 
hackneys,  whose  stud-book,  like  the  others  just  men- 
tioned, is  a  very  modern  one,  dating  from  1882.  Their 
origin  is  remotely  the  same  as  that  of  the  Cleveland 
bays  and  the  Yorkshire  coach  horses,  —  a  mixture 
of  thoroughbred  and  cart  horse;  but  in  the  hackney 
family  there  is  an  intermediate  strain,  namely,  that 
of  the  old  Xorfolk  trotter,  a  fast-trotting,  plain,  ser- 
viceable, moderate-sized  beast,  that  had  a  great  repu- 
tation in  his  da}T,  and  from  which,  in  part,  many  of 
our  own  trotters  are  descended.  The  best  hackneys 
now  extant  trace  back  almost  invariably  to  one  partic- 
ular horse,  called  Marshland  Shales,  who  was  foaled 
in  1802.  He  stood  14.3,  was  of  a  dun  color,  and  is 
said  to  have  descended  from  the  great  race  horse 
Eclipse.  George  Borrow,  in  a  passage  of  "  Lavengro," 
which  I  venture  to  quote  here,  although  it  is  a  familiar 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  191 

one,  tells  how  he  saw  Marshland  Shales  at  a  fair  in 
Norwich,  when  he  was  a  boy,  and  the  horse  was  old  :  — 

"Nothing  very  remarkable  about  that  creature,  un- 
less in  being  smaller  than  the  rest,  and  gentle,  which 
they  are  not.  He  is  almost  dun,  and  over  one  eye  a 
thick  film  has  gathered.  But  stay,  there  is  something 
remarkable  about  that  horse ;  there  is  something  in 
his  action  in  which  he  differs  from  all  the  rest.  As 
he  advances,  the  clamor  is  hushed,  all  eyes  are  turned 
upon  him.  What  looks  of  interest,  —  of  respect ! 
And  what  is  this  ?  People  are  taking  off  their  hats  ; 
surely  not  to  that  steed  !  Yes,  verily,  men,  especially 
old  men,  are  taking  off  their  hats  to  that  one-eyed 
steed,  and  I  hear  more  than  one  deep-drawn  Ah ! 
'  What  horse  is  that  ? '  I  said  to  one  very  old  fel- 
low, dressed  in  a  white  frock.  '  The  best  in  Mother 
England,'  said  the  very  old  man,  taking  a  knobbed 
stick  from  his  mouth,  and  looking  me  in  the  face, 
at  first  carelessly,  but  presently  with  something  like 
interest.  'He  is  old,  like  myself,  but  can  still  trot 
his  twenty  miles  an  hour.  You  won't  live  long,  my 
swain,  —  tall  and  overgrown  ones  like  thee  never 
does ;  yet  if  you  should  chance  to  reach  my  years, 
you  may  boast  to  thy  great-grandboys  that  thou  hast 
seen  Marshland  Shales.'" 

The  hackney  is  almost  too  plain  to  be  called  a  car- 
riage horse,  and  yet  he  has  some  style,  a  great  deal  of 
strength,  and  much  more  speed  than  the  larger  and 
more  elegant  sort.  Many  hackneys,  indeed,  have 
showy  and  beautiful  action.  Moreover,  having  been 
bred  in  something  very  like  its  present  form  for  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  the  type  is  more  likely  to  be 
reproduced  than  is  that  of  the  Cleveland  bay  or  York- 


192         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

shire  coach  horse.  An  American  horseman  of  national 
reputation,  the  importer  and  owner  of  some  excellent 
hackneys,  writes  to  me  as  follows  :  "  The  Xorfolk  and 
Yorkshire  hackneys  are  a  distinct  breed  of  horses; 
with  some  thoroughbred  and  other  crosses,  of  course, 
but  still  a  distinct  breed.  They  stamp  their  charac- 
teristics on  their  progeny  in  a  very  marked  and  de- 
cided manner,  —  more  marked  than  any  other  breed 
of  horses  that  I  know  of."  And  he  goes  on  to  describe 
them:  "The  Norfolk  and  Yorkshire  hackneys  are 
from  14  hands  to  15.3,  or  even  16  hands  high.  The 
average  is  perhaps  15.1J.  A  good  hackney  is  a  horse 
of  considerable  substance,  with  plenty  of  bone,  fine 
quality,  good  length,  on  short  legs,  and  with  riding 
shoulders.  He  is  a  fast  and  good  walker,  and  his 
trot  is  bold,  straight,  and  true,  and  fast  enough  for 
him  to  go  ten  to  fourteen  miles  an  hour.  Many 
Norfolk  and  Yorkshire  hackneys  have  trotted  better 
than  a  mile  in  three  minutes.  The  fine  weight-carry- 
ing hacks  one  sees  in  Eotten  Row,  and  the  splendid 
teams  that  are  paraded  at  the  meets  of  the  coaching 
and  four-in-hand  clubs  in  Hyde  Park,  are  nearly  all 
hackne}Ts." 

Of  late  years  there  have  been  imported  to  this 
country  many  representatives  of  all  these  families, 
the  Cleveland  bay,  the  Yorkshire  coach  horse,  and  the 
hackney,  —  some  of  them  fine  specimens,  and  some  of 
them  hardly  worth  their  passage  money.  In  fact, 
many  of  the  animals  exhibited  at  our  horse  shows,  and 
sometimes  actually  winning  prizes,  as  English  car- 
riage horses  and  coaching  stallions,  have  been  coarse, 
clumsy  brutes,  but  a  slight  distance  removed  from  the 
cart  horse,  and  frequently  not  even  sound. 


CARRIAGE    HORSES   AND    COBS.  193 

The  next  type  of  carriage  horse  to  be  considered 
is  the  French  coach  horse.  A  great  antiquity  is  com- 
monly set  up  for  this  family  by  its  admirers,  but  1 
have  never  been  able  to  find  any  evidence  in  support 
of  their  assertions.  Moreover,  it  is  difficult  to  dis- 
cover exactly  what  was  the  origin  of  the  French  coach 
horse.  It  is  commonly  said  to  have  been  a  cross  be- 
tween the  English  thoroughbred  and  the  Arab.  It  is 
certain  that  the  English  thoroughbred  figures  largely 
in  the  pedigree,  and  there  may  have  been  infusions  of 
Arab  blood ;  but  the  French  coach  horse  has  a  bulki- 
ness  of  form  and  a  mildness  of  temper  that  indicate 
some  other  element,  and  it  is  probaly  that  of  the  an- 
cient and  admirable  Percheron  family.  The  French 
coachers  are  large,  handsome  horses,  usually  chestnut, 
sometimes  bay,  and  occasionally  black  in  color.  They 
have  very  fine,  intelligent  heads,  rather  short  necks, 
broad  chests,  good  sloping  shoulders,  and  the  best  of 
legs  and  feet. 

In  one  respect,  that  of  speed,  they  are  far  superior 
to  any  strain  of  English  coach  horses.  In  order  to 
satisfy  the  government  test  in  France,  a  coaching 
stallion  must  trot  two  miles  and  two  fifths  at  the  rate 
of  a  mile  in  three  minutes,  and  this  on  a  turf  track. 
They  are  also,  as  a  rule,  more  gentle  and  docile  than 
the  English  carriage  horses,  but  a  little  inferior  to  the 
latter  in  point  of  "  quality,"  and  not  possessed  of  so 
proud  a  carriage.  Very  few  French  coach  horses  have 
been  imported  to  the  Eastern  States,  but  there  are 
many  in  the  West. 

The  action  of  a  carriage  horse  should  be  bold  and 
free ;  but  excessively  high  action,  being  incompatible 
with  speed  or  endurance,  is  a  fault  in  the  true  coacher. 

13 


194  ROAD,   TRACK,   AND    STABLE. 

High-steppers,  or  park  or  sensation  horses,  as  they 
are  sometimes  called,  stand  by  themselves,  —  in  a 
small  and  very  expensive  class.  Their  gait  is  not 
merely,  or  even  chiefly,  a  means  of  locomotion,  —  it  is 
an  end  in  itself ;  and  very  pretty  is  the  effect  of  their 
peculiar  up-and-down  step,  especially  when  they  are 
driven  at  a  slow  trot,  with  all  the  accessories  of  a  fine 
equipage.  They  travel  as  if  they  had  springs  in  their 
hoofs,  their  knees  at  the  upward  stroke  seeming  al- 
most to  touch  the  musical,  well  burnished  pole  chains 
with  which  they  are  often  and  most  suitably  har- 
nessed. The  high-stepper  expresses,  so  far  as  a  horse 
can  do  it,  the  insolence  of  wealth.  In  his  prime  he 
would  furnish  a  good  text  for  a  sermon,  and  in  his 
decay  he  might  point  the  moral  of  a  pathetic  tale. 

These  horses  are  distinctly  for  show,  not  for  use. 
"  You  may  drive  your  steppers,"  one  authority  re- 
marks, "  very  slowly  for  the  most  part,  and  fast  a 
short  distance,  if  they  shine  in  a  fast  trot,  for  two 
hours  or  so  every  day;  but  if  you  want  to  go  ten 
miles  out  of  town  and  back,  you  must  fall  back  on  a 
useful  pair,  or  hire  post  horses." 

The  best  of  our  sensation  horses  come  from  Maine, 
perhaps  because  its  stony  pastures  tend  to  make  the 
horses  that  run  in  them  step  high.  The  deep  snows 
which  prevail  during  the  long  winter  in  that  latitude 
probably  have  a  similar  effect.  A  man  wading  through 
snow  steps  uncommonly  high,  and  it  is  the  same  with 
a  horse.  Ten  years  ago  a  really  high-stepping  carriage 
horse  was  almost  unknown  in  this  country,  but  we 
raise  many  of  them  now ;  the  demand  partly  causing 
the  supply  to  exist,  and  partly  calling  it  forth 'from 
its  hiding  place  where  it  existed  before.     A  "  Down 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  195 

East "  farmer  raises  a  colt  or  two  from  good  stock, 
which,  being  turned  out  for  several  years  on  a  rocky 
hillside,  and  having  also,  it  may  be,  a  tendency  in 
that  direction,  acquire  the  habit  of  lifting  their  feet 
particularly  high  when  they  trot.  The  owner  looks 
upon  this  action  as  a  defect  rather  than  a  merit,  but 
fashionable  people  in  Xew  York  and  Boston  think 
otherwise :  it  soon  becomes  known  that  the  dealers 
who  go  from  farm  to  farm  will  pay  a  good  price  for 
horses  with  excessively  high  action,  and  accordingly 
such  horses  are  bred. 

But   is   there    no   family   of    American    coachers  ? 
Good  horses  having  been  raised  in  this  country  for  at 
least  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  is  it  possible^  that 
in  all  that  time  we  have  not  produced  a  typical  car- 
riage horse  of  our  own  ?     Alas  !  no,  although  we  have 
ample  material  for  the  purpose.      One  of  the  most 
brilliant   performers   that   appeared   on   the  trotting 
course  during  the  season  of  1890  was  Pamlico,  a  five- 
year-old  stallion,  owned  in  North  Carolina,  but  bred 
in  Vermont.      Pamlico  won  many  races,  obtained  a 
record  of  2.16f  in  a  fourth  heat,  and  proved  himself 
to  be  a  very  enduring  and  speedy  trotter.     But,  be- 
sides being  a  trotter,  Pamlico,  except  for  some  want 
of  height,  is  almost  an  ideal  coach  horse.     He  is  of  a 
rich  bay  color,  with  black  points ;  his  back  is  short, 
his  shape  round  and  smooth,  with  neither  the  angu- 
larities nor  the  high  rump  that  are  associated  with 
the  trotting  model ;  his  neck  inclines  to  arch ;  he  has 
a  handsome  head,   with,  fine  ears,  large  eyes,  widely 
separated ;  and,  race  horse  though  he  is,  Pamlico  pos- 
sesses the  bold,  proud  action  of  a  coaching  stallion. 
Xow  Pamlico,  though  an  unusual,  is  not  an  excep- 


196         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

tional  type,  and  the  same  element  from  which  he 
derives  his  coaching  appearance  is  found  in  a  large 
proportion  of  our  trotting  stock.  Pamlico's  grandsire 
and  our  most  famous  trotting  stallion  was  Rysdyck's 
Hambietonian,  who  died  about  fourteen  years  ago. 
As  I  have  mentioned  in  an  earlier  chapter,  he  was  de- 
scended in  the  paternal  line  from  Alanibrino,  one  of 
the  best  and  stoutest  thoroughbreds  that  ever  ran  iu 
England ;  but  his  dam  was  by  Bellfounder,  and  Bell- 
founder  was  a  Xorfolk  trotter  of  the  purest  stamp. 
Here,  then,  we  have  the  same  element  upon  which  the 
English  hacknev  is  based. 

The  Hambietonian  family  possesses  a  wonderful 
aptitude  for  retaining  its  own  and  assimilating  other 
good  qualities  ;  and  when  united  with  strains  possess- 
ing the  nervous  energy  and  the  '-quality"  in  which 
it  is  deficient,  it  rises  to  a  high  degree  of  excellence, 
as  in  the  Volunteers,  the  Almonts,  and  many  others. 
The  Hambietonian  carriage  horse  is  an  easy  poten- 
tiality.1 Other  trotting  families,  notably  the  Mam- 
brino  Patchens  and  some  of  the  Clavs,  contain  similar 
material. 

Carriage  horses  thus  bred  would  have  unusual  speed. 
They  would  be  a  race  of  trotting  coachers,  and  those 
that  lacked  the  fineness  of  a  carriage  horse  would 
nevertheless  be  strong,  serviceable  animals,  easily  sold 
at  a  fair  price ;  whereas  the  strictly  trotting-bred 
horse,  like  the  strictly  running-bred  horse,  is  apt  to 
prove  good  for  nothing  if  not  good  for  racing. 

In  speaking  of  Pamlico,  I  mentioned  his  bold,  high 
action.     This  he  does  not  inherit  from  his  Hamble- 

1  It  has  been  realized  to  a  considerable  extent  at  the  Payne 
Stock  Farm  in  Hinsdale,  Massachusetts. 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    CUBS.  197 

tonian  sire.  The  Hauibletonian  gait  is  a  long,  wide, 
distinctly  trotting  gait.  But  Pamlico's  clam  was  a 
Morgan,  of  the  Lambert  family,  and  he  derives  his 
showy  action  from  her.  Some  of  the  best  carriage 
horses  and  cobs  in  the  world  have  been  bred  in  much 
the  same  way  that  Pamlico  is  bred. 

1  will  state  some  examples.  Fifty  years  ago  there 
was  a  big  horse  in  Franklin  County,  Maine,  called  the 
Eaton  horse.1  He  was  a  sorrel,  and  he  weighed  1,450 
pounds.  Like  Kysdick's  Hambletonian,  he  was  a 
long-striding,  lumbering  beast,  and  most  of  his  de- 
scendants resembled  him  in  these  respects :  they 
were  fast,  but  sluggish,  and  poor  roadsters.  How- 
ever, crossed  with  small,  high-stepping  Morgan  mares, 
the  Eaton  horse  produced  no  less  than  three  fine 
families  of  carriage  horses,  cobs,  and  roadsters,  one 
of  which  attained  distinction  on  two  continents  and 
in  three  countries. 

The  first  of  these  families  was  that  of  Flying  Eaton, 
a  handsome  bay  horse  standing  about  15-^  hands,  and 
weighing  about  975  pounds.  Flying  Eaton  inherited 
the  high  action  of  his  dam.  He  had  a  beautiful 
arched  neck,  a  heavy  but  fine  mane,  a  tail  well  carried, 
a  short  back,  with  that  slight  graceful  downward 
curvature  of  the  spine  which  is  a  feature  of  the  Arab 
formation.  Despite  his  excessive  knee  action,  his 
motions  were  easy  and  elastic;  and  he  was  a  cour- 
ageous, tireless  roadster.  Flying  Eaton  had  great 
intelligence  and  one  intellectual  quality  which  is 
frequent  in  the  dog,  but  less  common  in  the  horse, 
namelv,  a  sense  of  humor. 

1  He  was  sired  by  the  Aver}-  horse,  and  he  by  Bucephalus,  a  big 
chestnut  horse  supposed  to  be  a  grandson  of  Messenger.  The  dam 
of  the  Eaton  horse  was  also  said  to  be  a  Messenger. 


198  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

"If  a  stranger  entered  his  stall/''  relates  a  former 
owner,  "he  would  act  as  if  he  was  going  to  kill  him, 
and  yet  he  was  perfectly  kind.  It  was  only  his  fun. 
Whenever  a  woman  entered  the  stall,  he  would  be 
extremely  gentle.  I  used  to  let  him  loose  in  the 
stable,  and  he  would  come  rushing,  stamping  up, 
showing  his  teeth  and  acting  as  if  he  meant  to 
slaughter  me  on  the  spot.  But  when  he  reached  me 
he  would  poke  his  nose  in  my  face  as  pleasant  as 
could  be,  and  invite  me  to  stroke  him." 

Altogether,  Flying  Eaton  was  a  perfect  cob,  with 
speed  and  endurance  such  as  very  few  cobs  indeed 
possess. 

Within  a  few  miles  of  the  small  town  where  Fly- 
ing Eaton  was  foaled,  a  stout  little  Morgan  mare  very 
much  like  the  dam. of  Flying  Eaton  used  to  be  driven 
by  a  farmer's  boy.  She  also  was  a  high  stepper,  and 
so  courageous  and  ambitious  that  she  never  could 
be  persuaded  or  compelled  to  walk  while  in  harness. 
The  hills  are  very  steep  and  long  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, but  she  invariably  surmounted  them  at  a  lively 
trot ;  and  on  the  one  or  two  occasions  when  a  serious 
attempt  was  made  to  moderate  her  impetuosity,  she  re- 
sisted so  strongly  as  to  upset  the  vehicle  in  a  ditch. 
This  little  mare  became  the  mother  of  a  very  hand- 
some,  high-stepping  chestnut  colt  (his  sire  being  the 
Eaton  horse)  which,  though  weighted  with  the  name 
of  Shepherd  F.  Knapp,  made  a  reputation  in  this  coun- 
try, in  France,  and  in  England.  Mr.  Burdett-Coutts 
speaks  of  him  as  being  "unsurpassed  for  pace  and 
action,"  and  he  conjectures  that  this  horse  derived  his 
gait  and  style  from  the  Xorfolk  trotter  blood  of  Bell- 
founder.  But  this  is  a  mistake ;  Knapp,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  not  a  drop  of  that  blood. 


1 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  199 

Shepherd  F.  Knapp  was  larger  than  his  half-brother, 
Flvinsr  Eaton,  but  much  like  him  in  action  and  in 
character.  He  was  exported  to  England  in  1864. 
Afterward  he  was  sent  to  France,  where  he  trotted  a 
race  of  two  and  a  half  miles  and  defeated  another 
American-bred  horse.  The  time  was  6.14,  or  a  little 
better  than  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in  2.30.  Shepherd 
F.  Knapp  sired  Capucine,  the  fastest,  gamiest  trotter 
ever  bred  on  the  Continent,  and  it  is  said  that  his 
blood  has  also  improved  the  breed  of  French  coach 
horses.  It  is  certain  that  in  England,  whither  Shep- 
herd F.  Knapp  was  soon  returned,  his  descendants 
and  those  of  his  son  Washington  are  among  the  best 
hackneys  ever  raised  there,  being  noted  for  their 
beauty  and  quality,  as  well  as  for  their  speed.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  among  the  very  hackneys  recently 
imported  to  this  country  are  some  that  have  descended 
from  the  little  gray  mare  that  used  to  trot  so  gallantly 
over  the  steep  hills  of  Franklin  County,  Maine. 

The  last  of  the  three  families  which  I  have  men- 
tioned as  descending  from  the  old  Eaton  horse,  crossed 
with  Morgan  mares,  is  that  of  Troublesome.1  This 
horse  never  attained  more  than  a  local  reputation,  and 
his  colts  had  the  common  defect,  inherited  from  him, 
of  hitting  their  fore  legs ;  but'  his  roading  qualities 
were  such  as  to  entitle  him  to  mention  along  with 
Flying  Eaton  and  Shepherd  F.  Knapp.  Troublesome 
was  a  handsome,  round-bodied  bay  horse,  of  great 
style  and  spirit.  He  weighed  about  eleven  hundred 
pounds,  and  was  very  speedy.     His  knee  action,  like 

1  Troublesome  was  sired  by  the  Norton  horse,  and  he  by  the 
Eaton  horse,  out  of  a  Morgan  mare.  The  Norton  horse  was  one 
of  the  handsomest  horses  ever  raised  in  Maine. 


200  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

that  of  Flying  Eaton  and  of  Shepherd  F.  Knapp,  was 
extremely  high. 

Troublesome  belonged  for  many  years  to  "  Squire  " 
Abner  Toothaker,  a  prominent  man  in  the  little  village 
of  Bangeley,  at  the  head  of  Bangeley  Lake,  in  the 
backwoods.  In  those  days  Bangeley  was  at  least  fifty 
miles  from  the  railroad,  and,  as  the  Squire's  business 
often  took  him  far  from  home,  it  was  necessary  that 
he  should  have  good  roadsters.  More  than  once  he 
drove  from  Bangor  to  Phillips  (a  village  twenty-one 
miles  "  out '  from  the  lake)  in  one  day,  although  the 
distance  is  ninety  miles ;  and  there  was  a  standing 
offer  on  his  part  to  drive  Troublesome  one  hundred 
miles  between  sunrise  and  sundown,  for  a  bet  of  one 
thousand  dollars. 

Squire  Toothaker  was  a  hard-visaged  old  gentleman, 
who  always  sat  a  little  sideways  in  his  carriage,  and 
clucked  viciously  to  his  horse  out  of  the  corner  of 
his  mouth.  Once  he  drove  Troublesome  to  a  sleigh 
sevent}7-six  miles  in  one  short  day,  besides  racing  him 
three  or  four  additional  miles  against  horses  which  he 
encountered  at  a  village  en  route.  On  another  occa- 
sion he  drove  from  Greenvale  to  Phillips,  a  distance 
of  eighteen  miles,  in  one  hour.  I  have  traversed  this 
road  several  times :  it  is  rough  and  hilly,  and,  though 
it  descends  for  perhaps  two  thirds  of  the  way,  there 
are  several  long,  steep  hills  to  ascend.  I  know  that  it 
takes  a  good  horse  to  cover  this  road  without  distress 
in  two  hours.     But  Troublesome  did  it  in  one  hour. 

Troublesome  had  a  son  called  Wild  Tiger,  who  also 
was  out  of  a  Morgan  dam.  The  name  is  an  ambitious 
one,  but  the  horse  seems  to  have  deserved  it.  He 
too  was  a  bay  horse,  with  four  white  feet,  and  a  dash 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  201 

of  white  in  bis  face.  His  knee  action  was  excessively 
high;  he  carried  his  head  high,  and,  altogether,  he 
showed  so  much  dash  and  power  and  spirit,  and 
seemed  to  go  so  fast,  —  he  could  in  fact  trot  a  L\40 
gait.  —  that  he  presented  a  very  formidable  appear- 
ance It  is  said  that  nobody  ever  looked  behind  and 
saw  Wild  Tiger  approaching,  without  turning  aside 
and  giving  him  the  road.  Nevertheless,  at  a  gait  of 
six  or  seven  miles  an  hour,  Wild  Tiger  was  temperate 
enough  to  be  driven  by  a  woman ;  but  when  his  blood 
was  up,  it  took  a  strong  man  to  control  him.  One 
winter  day,  Squire  Toothaker  drove  this  horse  from 
Phillips  to  Augusta,  fifty-two  miles,  in  hve  and  one 
half  hours.  The  snow-drifts  near  Phillips  were  so 
deep  that  it  took  him  one  hour  to  go  the  first  five 
miles,  so  that  he  drove  the  remaining  forty-seven 
miles  in  four  hours  and  a  half.  Wild  Tiger  pulled 
all  the  way.  and  came  out  fresh  the  next  morning. 

Now  these  successes  in  breeding  were  not  acciden- 
tal, for,  as  we  have  seen,  in  three  separate  cases,  a 
family  of  extraordinary  merit  sprang  from  the  union 
of  the  Eaton  horse  with  a  quick  and  high-stepping 
Morgan  mare.  So,  also,  as  I  have  stated,  a  similar 
cross  between  the  Hambletonian  stock  and  Morgan 
mares  has  resulted  equally  well.  Why,  then,  do  we 
not  continue  to  raise  such  incomparable  hackneys  as 
Shepherd  F.  Knapp,  and  such  tough,  speedy,  and 
beautiful  cobs  as  the  Flying  Eatons  ?  The  answer 
must  be  that  our  farmers  are  absorbed  in  the  pur- 
suit of  that  ignis  fatuus,  as  it  commonly  proves,  the 
remunerative  trotter. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  Flying  Eatons  as  cobs,  but  per- 
haps  incorrectly.     What  is  a  cob  ?     The  term  is  so 


202  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

ambiguous  that  many  stanch  horsemen  exclude  it 
from  their  categories.  Generally  speaking,  any  small- 
ish, chunky  horse,  especially  if  his  tail  be  cut  short,  is 
a  cob.  The  modern  hackney  usually  stands  a  little 
too  high  to  be  called  a  cob.  The  old  Morgan  horse 
—  of  the  small  type  —  was  a  perfect  cob,  powerful, 
speedy,  docile,  enduring,  and  possessed  of  great  style. 
He  was  a  saddle  as  well  as  a  harness  cob.  The  Mor- 
gan race  has  lately  been  revived,  largely  with  the 
object  of  using  it  as  a  trotting  cross.  This  purpose- 
is  a  laudable  one,  and  yet  the  Morgan  cob  should  also 
be  preserved. 

Not  long  since,  in  a  small  Xew  England  village,  I 
came  by  chance  upon  a  perfect  specimen  of  this 
variety.  It  was  a  little  bay  mare,  with  a  rather  long 
body  and  round  barrel.  She  stood  on  short  legs,  and 
must  have  been  less  than  fifteen  hands  high,  but  she 
had  the  strength,  in  all  the  moving  parts,  of  a  sixteen- 
hand  horse.  Her  neck  was  thick  but  not  coarse,  her 
head  small  and  Arabian  in  shape,  with  fine,  aristo- 
cratic, intelligent  ears,  and  an  eye  flashing  with  spirit 
and  courage.  She  was  nineteen  years  old  when  I  saw 
her,  and  hollow-backed,  but  still  so  spirited  as  to  re- 
quire a  man's  hand  upon  the  reins.  A  cob  of  this 
kind  is  capable  of  an  immense  amount  of  work,  and 
will  perform  it  upon  half  the  food  required  by  a  big 
horse. 

The  ordinary  cob  is  fat  and  faint-hearted,  well  fitted 
to  draw  a  village  cart  gently  about  a  village,  but  likely 
to  go  to  pieces  if  put  to  any  severe  task.  He  has  the 
bulkiness  of  a  small  cart  horse,  but  lacks  the  nervous 
energy  needed  to  make  him  a  good  roadster  or  a  good 
saddle  horse.     He  shines  at  horse   shows,  his   broad 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS.  20-3 

back  being  admirably  adapted  for  the  display  of  trap- 
pings and  caparisons ;  and  he  is  a  source  of  wealth  to 
fashionable  dealers.  A  small  "  blocky  "  horse  with  a 
rather  pretty  head,  weak  legs  perhaps,  and  no  speed, 
will  go  a-begging  in  the  country  for  $125  or  $150 ; 
but  in  the  hands  of  the  city  dealer,  clipped,  docked, 
and  hogged,  he  easily  brings  $250  or  $300.  He  is 
no  longer  a  "  little  horse,'7  but  a  "  cob." 

The  modern  fashion  of  using  cobs  and  small  horses 
generally  for  carriage  purposes  is  an  improvement  in 
several  ways,  and  chiefly  because  it  is  more  humane, 
the  wear  and  tear  of  their  feet  upon  the  pavements 
being  considerably  less  than  it  is  in  the  case  of  a  large 
horse.      Formerly   the    London   job-masters    had    no 
horses  in  their  stables  under  sixteen  hands  high ;  now 
they  have  many,  chiefly  for  single  brougham  use,  from 
fifteen  hands  upward,  and  the  same  tendency  prevails 
in  this  country.     In  fact,  the  use  of  small  carriage 
horses  followed  the  introduction  of  those  less  bulky 
and  lighter  vehicles  that  are  due  chiefly  to  the  skill  and 
originality  of  American  builders ;  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
heavy  carriages,  even,  are  not  drawn  more  easily,  as  a 
rule,  by  horses  that  weigh  from  nine  hundred  to  ten 
hundred  than  by  those  that  weigh  from  ten  hundred 
to  twelve  hundred  pounds.     Such,  I  have  found,  is  the 
common    opinion    of    American   horsemen,   and   such 
seems  to  be  the  experience  of  English  coach  drivers. 

"  In  these  days,"  writes  the  Duke  of  Beaufort, 
"when  the  road  coaches  only  carry  passengers,  and  no 
luggage  to  speak  of,  even  if  there  is  any  at  all,  we 
should  prefer,  for  all  sorts  of  roads,  short-stepping 
and  small,  though  thick  horses.  They  are  infinitely 
pleasanter  to  drive.     Anybody  who  has  had  the  ex- 


204         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

perience  of  taking  off  a  big,  lolloping  team  of  rather 
under-bred  horses,  who  are  very  tired,  and  have  beeu 
hanging  on  the  coachman's  hands  for  the  last  two 
or  three  miles  of  the  stage,  will  understand  what  a 
pleasure  and  relief  it  is  to  feel  the  quick,  sharp  trot 
of  a  little  team  of  fresh  horses." 

When,  however,  it  is  a  question  of  hauling  a  heavy- 
load,  such  as  an  omnibus,  at  a  jog  trot  on  level  ground, 
then  the  big  horse  is  required.  There  must  be  a  good 
weight  to  throw  into  the  collar.  Moreover,  when 
horses  are  well  bred  and  well  shaped,  neither  beefy 
nor  leggy,  but  bony  and  muscular,  they  can  hardly  be 
too  big.  "  A  pair  of  fifteen-hand  horses,"  an  English 
authority  writes,  "will  always  have  to  be  pulling  at 
an  ordinary  phaeton ;  whereas  the  same  carriage  seems 
to  roll  after  a  pair  of  15.2|'s  of  its  own  motion,  leav- 
ing them  light  in  hand,  well  collected,  and  with  full 
play  for  their  action." 

This  statement,  however,  is  not,  as  might  be  thought, 
inconsistent  with  the  opinion  just  expressed  concern- 
ing the  superiority  of  small  horses  as  fast  weight- 
pullers.  They  are  better  for  this  purpose,  not  because 
they  are  small,  but  because  they  usually  have  the  rel- 
ative shortness  of  limb  and  of  stride  which  are  me- 
chanically adapted  for  pulling  a  moderate  load  at  a 
brisk  pace.  When  these  characteristics  are  found  in 
larger  horses,  as,  for  example,  they  often  are  in  the 
Percheron  family,  you  have  animals  that  are  capable 
of  great  tasks.  A  span  of  Percherons  are  said  to  have 
drawn  an  omnibus  around  a  mile  track  in  four  min- 
utes ;  and  the  gray  Norman-Percheron  stallions  that 
drew  the  diligence  from  Calais  to  Paris  in  pre-railway 
days  trotted  and  galloped  at  the  rate  of  eleven  miles 


CARRIAGE    HORSES    AND    COBS. 


205 


an  hour,  equalling  the  speed  of  their  better  bred  Eng- 
lish contemporaries,  but  not,  it  is  true,  keeping  it  up 
so  long ;  their  stages  being  but  five  miles  in  length, 
whereas  the  English  stages  were  ten  miles. 

But  whatever  the  size  of  the  carriage  horse,  and 
whatever  the  use  for  which  he  is  intended,  —  whether 
he  is  to  be  a  big,  prancing  coacher,  or  a  fast-stepping 
barouche  horse,  or  a  useful,  medium-sized  animal,  or  a 
stout  one  for  a  brougham,  or  a  showy  one  for  a  phae- 
ton, or  an  all-day  nag  for  a  comparatively  light  car- 
riage and  long  drives,  —  whether  he  is  to  be  a  horse,  a 
cob,  or  a  pony,  —  let  him  have  the  inward  energy  and 
the  outward  grace  that  only  a  dash  of  thoroughbred 
or  Arab  blood  can  supply.  Half-bred  horses  are  not 
only  the  most  useful,  but  the  most  beautiful,  the 
world  over. 


VIII. 


CART  HORSES. 


EVERYBODY  who  cares  for  the  beautiful  or  the 
picturesque,  whether  or  not  he  be  touched  by 
the  true  hippie  passion,  must  take  an  interest  in  cart 
horses.  They  are  attractive  and  pleasant  to  look 
upon  merely  as  animals,  quite  apart  from  the  fact 
that  you  can  put  bits  in  their  mouths,  and  cause 
them  to  expend  their  strength  at  the  will  and  in 
the  service  of  man.  The  generic  difference  in  this 
respect  between  cart  horses  and  racers  is  well  indi- 
cated by  Mr.  Hamerton. 

"  The  race  horse,"  he  says,  "  has  the  charms  of  a 
tail  coat,  of  a  trained  pear  tree,  of  all  such  superfine 
results  of  human  ingenuity,  but  he  has  lost  the  glory 
of  nature.  Look  at  his  straight  neck,  at  the  way 
he  holds  his  head,  at  his  eager,  anxious  eye,  often 


CART    HORSES.  207 

irritable  and  vicious  !  Breeders  for  the  turf  have 
succeeded  in  substituting  the  straight  line  for  the 
curve,  as  the  dominant  expressional  line,  a  sure 
and  scientific  maimer  of  eradicating  the  elements  of 
beauty.  No  real  artist  would  ever  paint  race  horses 
from  choice.  Good  artists  have  occasionally  painted 
them  for  money.  The  meagre  limbs,  straight  lines, 
and  shiny  coat  have  slight  charm  for  an  artist,  who 
generally  chooses  either  what  is  beautiful  or  what  is 
picturesque,  and  the  race  horse  is  neither  picturesque 
nor  beautiful." 

Certainly  there  is  some  exaggeration  here.  Many 
thoroughbred  horses  are  good-tempered  and  affection- 
ate, and  not  unduly  nervous.  In  the  recent  Badmin- 
ton volume  on  Driving,  there  is  an  account  of  a 
young  thoroughbred  mare,  that,  having  never  been 
in  harness  before,  was  attached  one  day  to  a  dog-cart, 
and  driven  thirty  miles  up  and  down  hill,  without 
showing  the  least  fear  or  resistance.  A  thoroughbred 
of  this  character  commonly  has  large,  luminous  eyes, 
more  beautiful  than  those  possessed  by  any  other 
dumb  animal.  The  delicately  cut  ear,  the  round, 
thin,  quivering  nostril,  and  even  the  smooth  and 
shining  coat,  —  these,  again,  are  surely  forms  of  the 
beautiful,  though  not  of  the  picturesque.  It  must 
be  remembered,  also,  that  among  thoroughbred  horses 
there  is  a  great  variety  of  structure  and  disposition. 
Many  of  them  are  comparatively  short  in  leg,  with 
round  body  and  curved  neck.  Such  was  the  old 
type  of  thoroughbred  when  the  Arab  blood  from 
which  the  present  race  has  chiefly  been  derived  was 
'■closer  up,"  as  horsemen  say. 

In  the  main,  however,  Mr.  Hamerton's  remarks  on 


208         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

this  point  are  just,  and  the  typical  thoroughbred 
especially  the  typical  English  thoroughbred,  is  the 
nervous,  irritable,  inartistic  animal  that  he  describes. 

The  cart  horse,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  common 
and  appropriate  figure  in  painting. 

Among  the  minor  pictures  by  Turner  in  the  Na- 
tional Gallery  at  London,  not  the  least  interesting  is 
one  which  represents  a  stout  gray  farm  or  cart  horse, 
taking  his  ease  in  the  stable,  and  eating  hay  from  a 
well  filled  rack  above  his  head.  He  stands  in  a  wide 
stall,  heaped  with  yellow  straw  and  flooded  with  sun- 
shine, so  that  the  scene  is  one  of  equine  pleasure 
and  repose,  delightful  to  the  human  eye  on  that  ac- 
count, as  well  as  for  its  harmonious  and  beautiful 
coloring. 

There  is  another  homespun  sight  which  English 
artists  never  tire  of  representing.  It  is  that  of  a 
string  of  farm  horses,  whose  day's  work  is  finished, 
at  nightfall.  With  the  harness  still  upon  their  backs, 
they  have  been  ridden  or  led  to  drink  at  a  cool,  elm- 
shaded  stream,  where  they  stand,  fetlock  deep,  some 
slowly  and  luxuriously  slaking  their  thirst,  while 
others  gaze  idly  about,  their  heads  half  raised  above 
the  surface  of  the  water.  This  is  one  of  those  fa- 
miliar though  foreign  sights,  as  to  which  an  agreeable 
confusion  is  apt  to  arise  in  the  mind  of  an  American; 
for  he  does  not  always  clearly  remember  whether  he 
has  seen  them  in  reality  or  in  a  picture,  or  read 
about  them  in  a  novel,  the  truth  often  being  that 
his  knowledge  has  been  derived  in  each  of  these 
ways.  Of  all  equine  pictures,  none,  I  suppose,  is 
better  known  than  Rosa  Bonheur's  Horse  Fair.  Her 
noble  Percherons,  drawn  with  fond  fidelity,  are  per- 


CART   HORSES.  209 

haps  the  most  ideal  representation  of  cart  horses  in 
the  world,  and  yet  no  exaggeration  of  the  reality. 

Almost  all  the  accessories  of  the  cart  horse,  his 
trappings,  the  uses  to  which  he  is  put,  the  place  in 
which  he  is  kept,  the  loads  that  he  pulls,  are  pictu- 
resque. Most  often  one  thinks  of  him  as  an  agricul- 
tural character,  a  true  son  of  the  soil,  who  slowly 
draws  home  a  huge  pile  of  hay,  or  is  found  at  the 
plough,  turning  up  long,  glistening  lines  of  rich 
earth.  There  is  nothing  spick  and  span  about  his 
stable,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  marked  by  pictu- 
resque disorder,  —  plenty  of  straw  about,  the  stalls, 
mangers,  and  roof  tinted  a  rich  brown  by  the  long 
lapse  of  time,  cobwebs  hanging  luxuriantly  overhead, 
deep  mows  of  hay,  and  capacious  gram-chests  within 
easy  reach  to  hold  his  provender. 

Nor  does  the  cart  horse  fail  to  harmonize  with 
his  surroundings  in  the  city,  where  he  receives  more 
grain  and  more  grooming  than  are  obtainable  on  the 
farm.  His  shape,  though  still  round,  is  here  more 
elegant,  his  neck  takes  a  prouder  curve,  and  his 
coat  becomes  smooth  and  glossy :  fit  servant  of  com- 
merce ;  solid  and  substantial  as  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land; conscious  of  his  strength,  like  a  merchant  of 
indisputable  credit ;  able  to  transport  the  wealth  of 
the  Indies  from  wharves  to  warehouses,  or  to  draw 
towering  piles  of  wool  from  the  railroad  to  the  fac- 
tory. Smaller  animals  may  clatter  over  the  massive 
pavements  of  the  city,  but  the  cart  horse,  with  his 
slow,  majestic  step  and  proudly  bent  head,  is  its 
proper  denizen  of  the  equine  race. 

Long  established  and  wealthy  firms  do  not  hesitate 
to  borrow  splendor  from  the  excellence  of  their  cart 

14 


210  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

horses.  Those  of  the  London  brewers  especially  — 
the  twelve  Beer  Kings,  as  they  used  to  be  called  — 
have  a  world-wide  reputation.  Formerly,  each  brewer 
had  an  equine  color  of  his  own  ;  and  they  were  "  as 
particular,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  about  the  colors 
and  matchings  of  their  dray  horses  as  of  their  own 
four-in-hands,  or  the  court  chariot  pairs  of  their  titled 
wives.  One  was  celebrated  for  a  black,  the  original 
dray  horse  color ;  another,  for  a  brown,  a  roan,  a  gray, 
or  chestnut  team.  But  at  present,  such  is  the  de- 
mand for  horses  of  this  class  that  they  are  compelled 
to  be  content  with  any  color,  and  to  moderate  the 
old  standard  of  height."  The  brewers'  horses,  it 
may  be  remarked  parenthetically,  are  fond  of  beer, 
but  they  are  allowed  to  have  it  only  when  recovering 
from  illness  ;  at  such  times  it  is  of  service  as  a  tonic. 
Horses  take  naturally  to  intoxicating  liquors  ,  beer, 
spirits,  and  more  frequently  wine,  are  often  adminis- 
tered to  trotters  in  a  long-drawn  contest,  and  with 
excellent  results.  Champagne  and  soda-water,  as  I 
have  stated  in  a  previous  chapter,  is  the  pleasant 
draught  which  one  famous  driver  employs  on  these 
occasions. 

The  "  city  horses "  of  Boston,  used  to  carry  off 
ashes  and  garbage,  have  long  enjoyed  a  high  repu- 
tation for  strength  and  beauty,  and  the  excellent  con- 
dition which  they  almost  invariably  show  testifies  to 
the  horsemanship  of  the  official,  whoever  he  may  be, 
having  them  in  charge.  There  is  in  the  same  city  a 
noted  patent-medicine  house,  whose  stalwart  four-in- 
hands  may  be  supposed  to  symbolize  the  strength  of 
their  drugs.  Twenty  years  ago  there  used  to  be  a 
cigar  and  candy  pedler    traversing   the   mountainous 


CART   HORSES.  211 

region  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Massachusetts, 
who  had  a  large,  gayly  painted  wagon,  drawn  by  four 
stout,  handsome  gray  horses,  in  which  he  took  a 
proper  pride ;  but  one  night  the  whole  establishment 
perished  in  the  flames,  the  stable  where  the  pedler 
put  up  having  taken  fire,  and  the  team  was  never 
reproduced. 

Between  the  cart  horse  and  his  driver  there  usu- 
ally exists,  in  one  respect  at  least,  the  ideal  relation, 
that  is,  the  driver  serves  also  as  groom.  Man  and 
horse  labor  together,  and  when  the  day's  work  is 
done  it  is  the  driver  who  gives  the  hungry  and  tired 
beast  his  supper,  his  bed,  and  perchance  his  rubbing 
down.  Thus  the  horse  associates  with  the  man  the 
pleasures  as  well  as  the  toils  of  equine  life.  I  con- 
fess that  often,  vexed  by  legal  problems,  I  have  looked 
out  of  my  office  window  and  envied  the  teamsters  in 
the  street.  To  be  in  charge  of  a  good,  sleek,  fat  pair 
of  cart  horses,  to  live  in  the  open  air,  to  digest  any- 
thing that  you  may  see  fit  to  impose  upon  your  stom- 
ach, to  have  a  face  beautifully  colored  by  the  elements 
and  by  whiskey,  thoroughly  assimilated,  —  is  not  this 
to  be  happy  ?  There  is  a  certain  negro  teamster, 
who,  as  it  appears  to  me,  stands  at  the  acme  of  un- 
intellectual  existence.  He  drives  a  very  fine  pair 
of  jet-black  horses,  belonging  to  a  coal  merchant. 
These  horses  have  taken  many  premiums  at  horse 
shows,  and  they  bear  the  appropriate  names  of  King 
Cole  and  Chloe.  Evidently  the  negro  is  wrapped  up 
in  them.  Once  or  twice,  at  least,  every  year,  he  ex- 
hibits the  animals  at  a  show  or  fair,  and  on  these 
occasions  he  has  nothing  to  do  except  to  talk;  and  I 
know  of  no  machine  that  runs  more  easily  and  pleas- 


212  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

antly  than  the  tongue  of  a  horseman  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. I  discovered  accidentally  one  day  that 
the  very  color  of  the  horses  is  a  source  of  pleasure 
to  him.  It  was  in  winter,  and  the  streets  were  heavy 
with  snow  and  slush.  The  team  pulled  a  big  load  of 
coal  so  neatly  out  of  the  slough,  that  a  bystander 
was  moved  to  express  his  admiration  at  their  prow- 
ess. "  Huh ! "  exclaimed  the  colored  man,  grinning 
from  ear  to  ear,  "you  see,  Mistah,  them  horses  is 
black  !  " 

The  arched  neck  of  the  cart  horse  is  a  thing  not 
only  of  beauty,  but  also  of  utility.  Unless  he  arches 
his  neck,  he  cannot  be  "  collected,"  so  as  to  pull  with 
an  economy  of  strength.  Anybody  who  has  ridden 
much  on  the  front  platform  of  a  horse  car  must  have 
noticed  a  great  difference  in  the  action  of  differ- 
ent teams  —  according  to  the  ability  of  the  driver  — 
when  a  heavily  loaded  car  is  to  be  started.  Some 
horses  throw  up  their  heads,  and  strike  out  wildly 
with  their  fore  feet,  making  a  violent  effort,  and  slip- 
ping on  the  pavement.  Others,  better  trained,  start 
more  slowly,  stepping  shortly  on  their  toes,  their  legs 
well  under  them,  their  necks  arched,  —  and  this  is 
the  true  way. 

Here,  also,  as  in  the  case  of  road  horses,  I  think 
that  a  proper  check  rein  may  be  beneficial.  The 
check  rein  of  a  cart  horse,  as  commonly  used,  is  at- 
tached neither  to  the  headstall  nor  to  the  saddle,  but 
is  simply  a  bridle  rein,  buckling  on  the  bit,  and  pass- 
ing around  the  top  of  the  hames.  It  does  not  pull 
the  horse's  head  up,  but  rather  pulls  it  in,  thus  tend- 
ing to  arch  the  neck  and  to  steady  the  animal.  In 
going  up  hill  even  this  form  of  check  would  be  out 


(  ART    HORSES.  213 

of  place,  but  on  level  ground  it  must,  I  think,  be  of 
assistance.1 

There  is  an  affinity  between  the  lighter  kinds  of 
cart  horse  —  many  of  whom,  such  as  the  Percheron, 
are  very  active  —  and  the  war  horse.  The  famous  Jus- 
tin Morgan,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  in  previous  chap- 
ters, founder  of  the  great  road  horse  family,  was  not 
only  the  best  weight-puller  of  his  time,  besides  being 
a  fast  runner,  but,  though  a  small  animal,  was  also 
much  in  request  for  musters  and  other  military  oc- 
casions, on  account  of  his  superb  carriage  and  com- 
manding appearance.  A  horse  of  this  kind,  but 
weighing  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  more,  would 
have  made  an  ideal  charger  for  a  knight  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  knight  himself,  his  armor,  and  the  armor 
worn  by  the  horse,  were  estimated  at  nearly  or  quite 
four  hundred  pounds.  In  fact,  so  heavy  and  cumber- 
some were  the  horseman's  accoutrements  that  two 
squires  were  often  needed  to  exalt  him  to  the  saddle, 
and,  once  overthrown,  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  rise 
without  assistance.  The  suffocation  of  some  hapless 
contestant  who  had  the  ill  luck  to  fall  upon  his 
stomach  was  a  not  uncommon  incident  of  a  passage 
at  arms.  To  carry  a  knight  in  full  armor  required  a 
beast  of  great  size  and  strength,  and  doubtless,  like 
the  modern  fire-engine  horse,  he  was  most  usefully 
employed  at  one  of  two  gaits,  a  walk  or  a  hand-gallop. 
The  knight  did  not  ride  him,  as  a  rule,  except  when 
some  martial  business  was  on  hand.  At  other  times, 
his  squire  bestrode  the  war  horse,  the  knight  himself 

1  Such,  I  find,  is  the  opinion  of  an  English  Vet,  R.  S.  Rey- 
nolds, M.  R.  C.  V.  S.  of  Liverpool,  who  has  puhlished  a  little  book 
called  "  An  Essay  on  the  Breeding  and  Management  of  Draught 
Horses." 


214         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

travelling  more  quickly  and,  comfortably  upon  his 
jennet. 

By  most  of  the  authorities  the  war  horse  of  the 
Middle  Ages  is  identified  with  the  old  black  cart 
horse,  or  shire  horse,  of  England.  A  recent  work  by 
Mr.  Walter  G-ilbey  is  entitled  "  The  Old  English  War 
Horse  or  Shire  Horse,"  thus  assuming  that  they  were 
one  and  the  same ;  and  the  late  Mr.  Walsh  was  also 
of  this  opinion,  for  he  wrote  as  follows :  "  From  time 
immemorial  this  country  has  possessed  a  heavy  and 
comparatively  misshapen  animal,  the  more  active  of 
which  [sic]  were  formerly  used  as  chargers  or  pack- 
horses,  while  the  others  were  devoted  to  the  plough." 
And  he  gives  the  following  unflattering  account  of 
him:  "In  color  almost  invariably  black,  with  a  great 
fiddle-case  in  place  of  a  head,  and  feet  concealed  in 
long  masses  of  hair  depending  from  misshapen  legs, 
he  united  flat  sides,  upright  shoulders,  mean  and  nar- 
row hips,  and  very  drooping  quarters."  Such  was  the 
shire  horse,  —  so  called  because  he  was  raised  almost 
exclusively  in  the  Shires  or  Midland  counties. 

Shire  horses  are  still  bred,  but  they  have  been 
improved  by  crossing  with  Flemish  stallions.  The 
London  dray  horses  are  mainly  shire  horses,  and 
since  the  shire  horse  is  the  only  purely  English  cart 
horse,  —  that  is,  the  only  one  of  English  origin  and 
raised  on  English  soil,  —  it  is  fashionable  in  Eng- 
land to  speak  of  "  shire  horses,"  and  never  of  "  cart 
horses."  Nevertheless,  when  a  society  was  formed  in 
that  country,  some  years  ago,  to  improve  the  breed  of 
agricultural  horses  "not  being  Clydesdales  or  Suf- 
folks,"  the  name  "  English  Cart  Horse  Society  "  was 
taken.     The  fact  is,  that  hunters,  coachers,  and  race 


CART    HORSES.  215 

horses  are  now  raised  more  numerously  than  cart 
horses  in  the  shires,  and  hence  the  term  "  shire 
horse "  is  inaccurate,  as  well  as  somewhat  vague. 
The  old  black  cart  horse,  or  shire  horse,  is  now  most 
nearly  represented  by  the  black  horse  of  Lincolnshire. 
One  hesitates  to  conclude  that  the  beautiful,  high- 
mettled  charger  of  the  Middle  Ages,  as  he  has  been 
described  by  poets  and  romancers,  was  really  a  dull, 
ngly  beast,  with  "  misshapen  legs,"  and  "  a  great 
fiddle-case  in  place  of  a  head."  Was  it  such  a  steed 
that  carried  the  Disinherited  Knight  in  his  encounter 
with  Brian  de  Bois  G-uilbert  ?  Sir  Walter  Scott  re- 
lates, that  "  the  trumpets  had  no  sooner  given  the 
signal  than  the  champions  vanished  from  their  posts 
with  the  speed  of  lightning,  and  closed  in  the  centre 
of  the  lists  with  the  shock  of  a  thunderbolt " ;  and 
the  charger  of  the  Disinherited  Knight  is  described 
as  "  wheeling  with  the  agility  of  a  hawk  upon  the 
wang."  It  is  possible  that  the  English  shire  horse, 
or  war  horse,  was  improved  by  crosses  of  Arab  blood, 
for  Arab  horses  might  have  been  brought  into  Eng- 
land at  the  time  of  the  Crusades.  Isaac  of  York,  it 
will  be  remembered,  supplied  Ivanhoe  with  the  horse 
and  armor  which  he  used  when  he  overthrew  Brian 
de  Bois  Guilbert,  and  awarded  the  crown  of  beauty  to 
Kowena;  and  the  thrifty  Jew  exclaimed  to  Rebecca, 
as  they  gazed  upon  the  conflict,  "  Ah,  the  good  horse 
that  was  brought  all  the  long  way  from  Barbary.  he 
takes  no  more  care  of  him  than  if  he  were  a  wild 
ass's  colt !  "  In  this,  however,  Isaac  of  York  must 
have  been  misreported  by  Sir  Walter.  Xo  Barbary 
horse  or  Eastern  horse  of  any  description  was  ever 
big   or  strong  enough  to    carry  a    knight    in    armor, 


216  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

although,  as  I  have  suggested,  it  is  possible  that  the 
native  horse  of  England  obtained  some  beauty,  grace, 
and  agility  by  an  infusion  of  Eastern  blood. 

Mr.  Gilbey,  so  far  as  I  know,  is  the  only  writer 
who  has  endeavored  to  prove,  though  others  have 
asserted,  the  identity  of  the  war  horse  of  the  Middle 
Ages  with  the  old  black  cart  horse  of  England ;  and 
he  relies  almost  entirely  upon  the  evidence  of  coins 
and  other  graven  representations.  But  in  such  fig- 
ures much  must  be  allowed  for  the  taste  or  caprice 
of  the  artist,  and  I  suspect  that  Mr.  Gilbey's  series 
might  be  impugned  by  others.  For  the  period  be- 
ginning about  the  year  1500  he  shows  the  famous 
white  horse  of  Albert  Dlirer,  that  has  indeed  the  char- 
acteristics of  a  cart  horse.  But  in  the  College  of 
Arms  there  is  preserved  an  illustrated  roll,  known 
as  Tournament  Roll,  commemorating  a  grand  tour- 
nament which  took  place  at  Westminster  on  February 
12,  1510,  in  honor  of  Queen  Katherine ;  and  the  war 
horse  represented  by  this  roll  is  a  much  finer  beast 
than  Albert  Diirer's.  He  has  a  beautifully  curved 
neck,  a  small,  well  shaped  head,  and  he  is  disfigured 
by  no  long  hairs  at  the  fetlock  joints.  This  picture 
may  of  course  be  idealized,  but  it  is  as  good  historical 
evidence  as  the  coins  produced  by  Mr.  Gilbey.  The 
whole  matter  is  one  of  not  very  profitable  conjecture, 
but  it  is  worth  remembering  that  the  Middle  Ages, 
during  which  the  war  horse  was  in  daily  use,  consti- 
tuted a  long  period,  and  it  is  hardly  credible  that  in 
this  time  a  true  war  horse  should  not  have  been  de- 
veloped, more  active,  spirited,  and  beautiful  than  the 
shire  horse.  One  writer,  indeed,  of  a  date  as  early 
as  the  sixteenth  century,  speaks  of  his  high  action,  — 


CART   HORSES.  217 

which  would  be  natural  in  such  an  animal  as  I  have 
imagined,  but  which  was  never  seen  in  the  shire 
horses. 

But,  however  this  may  be,  the  shire  horse  is  a 
beast  of  great  antiquity,  though  much  improved  dur- 
ing the  past  two  centuries.  In  fact,  there  are  some 
living  members  of  the  breed  whose  pedigrees  can  be 
traced  back  for  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
and  this  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  any  other  exist- 
ing cart  horse  family.  One  reason  for  the  improve- 
ment is  a  mechanical  discovery  as  to  the  muscular 
action  of  the  cart  horse.  It  used  to  be  thought  that 
he  did  his  work  by  perpetually  tumbling  against  his 
collar,  as  it  were,  thus  bringing  his  weight  to  bear, 
and  consequently  that  his  fore  quarters  ought  to  be  as 
heavy  as  possible  ;  it  was  no  harm  if  his  shoulder 
bone  were  straight,  and  as  for  his  hind  quarters  it 
did  not  matter  much  what  they  were.  But  this  notion 
has  been  exploded,  and  it  is  now  perceived  that  a 
cart  horse  pulls  by  muscle  rather  than  by  weight,  and 
more  by  the  muscles  of  his  hind  quarters  and  legs 
than  by  those  of  his  fore  quarters.  The  structure  of 
a  cart  horse  should  therefore  bear  a  general  resem- 
blance to  that  of  a  racer  or  trotter,  except  that  his 
legs  should  be  shorter,  his  shoulder  less  oblique,  and 
his  rump  not  higher  than  the  withers. 

The  Saturday  Eeview  once  made  some  excellent 
observations  on  this  subject,  as  follows :  "  There  are 
many  points,  indeed,  which  good  horses  of  nearly  all 
breeds  share  in  common.  For  instance,  the  following 
descriptions,  taken  at  random  from  different  news- 
papers :  he  is  '  thick,  level,  and  strong  ' ;  he  '  stands 
on  short,  well  formed  limbs,  and,  like  several  good 


218  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

horses,  he  sports  curls  of  hair  on  his  fetlocks ' ;  '  he 
is  of  good  substance,  deep-bodied,  and  set  off  by  those 
powerful  yet  sloping  shoulders,'  etc.  ;  '  he  has  also  a 
deep  body,  with  great  muscular  development  in  his 
rump,  quarters,  thighs,  and  gaskins,'  —  although  they 
might  equally  apply  to  certain  cart  horses,  were  one 
and  all  written  of  race  horses.  .  .  .  An  excellent 
judge,  again,  once  wrote  that  horses  '  with  strong 
backs  and  loins,  wide  hips,  and  great  muscular  quar- 
ters, with  sound  and  well  shaped  hocks,  generally 
win,'  —  not  prizes  at  agricultural  shows,  as  cart  stal- 
lions, but  races  at  Ascot." 

Another  English  breed  of  cart  horses,  or,  in  this 
case,  more  properly  farm  horses,  was  the  Suffolk 
Punch,  which  once  became  almost  extinct,  but  has 
lately  been  revived  in  a  somewhat  different  form. 
These  were  sorrel  horses,  smaller  and  more  active 
than  the  shire  horse,  and  noted  for  their  docility. 
They  stood  low  in  front,  and  were  disfigured  by  very 
upright  shoulders  ;  but  they  were  round  and  stout, 
and  had  good  heads.  Readers  of  "  Sandford  and  Mer- 
ton"  will  recall  the  delight  of  Harry  when  his  father, 
Farmer  Sandford,  received  the  present  of  a  span 
of  Suffolk  Punches  from  Mr.  Merton,  father  of  the 
wicked  but  repentant  Tommy.  Harry  rushes  into 
the  house  to  announce  the  arrival  of  two  strange  and 
beautiful  horses,  whereupon,  says  the  tale,  the  elder 
Sandford,  who  in  all  other  respects  is  represented  as 
a  sedate  and  even  phlegmatic  person,  "started  up, 
overset  the  liquor  and  the  table,  and,  making  a  hasty 
apology  to  Mr.  Merton,  ran  out  to  see  these  wonderful 
animals.  Presently  he  returned  in  equal  admiration 
with  his  son.     '  Master  Merton,'  said  he,  '  I  did  not 


CART    HORSES.  ^10 

think  you  had  been  so  good  a  judge  of  a  horse. 
I  suppose  they  are  a  new  purchase  which  you  want 
to  have  my  opinion  upon,  and  I  can  assure  you  they 
are  the  true  Suffolk  sorrels,  the  first  breed  of  working 
horses  in  the  kingdom ;  and  these  are  some  of  the 
best  of  their  kind.' "  Being  undeceived,  he  at  first 
refused  the  gift,  but  was  finally  persuaded  to  accept 
it,  to  the  great  content  of  both  Harry  and  Tommy. 

The  stanchness  of  the  Suffolk  Punches  was  prover- 
bial, and  they  would  have  been  called  in  the  language 
of  the  modern  sale  stable,  "  dead-down,  true  pullers." 
This  quality  was  often  displayed  at  pulling  matches, 
where  the  competing  teams  would  fall  upon  their 
knees  at  a  given  signal  (the  ground  being  strewed 
with  straw  or  saud),  and  in  that  position  move  a 
great  weight.  The  only  account  I  have  ever  seen  of 
the  origin  of  this  breed  states  that  it  was  formed 
by  crossing  Norman  stallions  with  the  Suffolk  cart 
mare. 

Perhaps  the  most  popular  breed  of  cart  horses 
now  used  in  England  is  the  Clydesdale.  This,  as 
the  name  implies,  is  a  Scotch  family,  but  its  origin 
is  obscure,  though  tradition  ascribes  it  to  a  cross 
made  by  an  unascertained  Duke  of  Hamilton  be- 
tween the  draught  mares  of  the  country  and  some 
Dutch  stallions.  Clydesdales,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Percherons,  have  more  "  quality  "  —  that  is,  finer 
characteristics  and  a  better  bred  appearance  —  than 
any  other  cart  horses.  Their  coat  is  more  silky,  their 
ears  are  smaller,  their  heads  and  necks  more  beauti- 
ful, and  the  whole  body  is  more  finely  turned.  Their 
faults  are  a  tendency  to  be  too  long  in  the  leg,  some- 
what light-waisted,  and,  occasionally,  a  little  hot  in 


220         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


"> 


temper.  Their  color  is  bay,  brown,  or  black.  Some 
of  these  horses  are  very  beautiful,  and  very  large  also. 
In  Cassell's  Book  of  the  Horse,  there  is  an  excellent 
colored  illustration  of  Prince  Albert,  a  magnificent 
Clydesdale  stallion,  seventeen  hands  high. 

The  only  peer  of  the  Clydesdale  is  the  Percheron. 
This  horse,  as  everybody  knows,  is  usually  gray  in 
color,  though  sometimes  black,  and  less  frequently 
chestnut  or  bay.  The  Percheron  stands  on  some- 
what shorter  legs  than  the  Clydesdale,  and  is  more 
compactly  built,  his  head  and  ears  being  as  fine  as 
those  of  his  rival,  and  commonly  even  smaller.  He 
carries  a  long,  thick  mane,  but  wears  less  hair 
than  the  latter  on  his  fetlock  joints.  In  England 
hairy  fetlocks  are  considered  a  mark  of  beauty ; 
but  they  retain  both  dirt  and  moisture,  and  conse- 
quently, unless  carefully  cleaned  and  dried,  produce 
"  scratches." 

Nothing  is  certainly  known  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
Percheron,  though  some  writers  assert  that  he  is  de- 
scended in  part,  at  least,  from  Arab  stock.  There  is 
no  positive  proof  of  this,  and  the  assumption  rests 
chiefly  upon  an  undoubted  resemblance  between  the 
Arab  and  the  Percheron,  notwithstanding  the  great 
difference  between  them  in  size  and  weight.  The  Per- 
cheron has  the  same  intelligent  and  gentle  disposi- 
tion as  the  Arab,  and,  like  him.  a  compact  body,  an 
arched  neck,  large  eyes,  and  a  tail  well  set  on.  There 
seems  also  to  be  a  tendency  in  the  breed  to  revert  to 
a  smaller  type  ;  some  very  fine  Percheron  stallions 
stand  no  more  than  15  hands,  and  the  best  of  them 
rarely  exceed  16-J-  hands.  This  tendency  would  in- 
dicate a   derivation  from    smaller  ancestors ;    and    it 


CART   HORSES.  221 

renders  the  Perckeron  a  mure  desirable,  cross  than  the 
Clydesdale,  when  tke  object  is  to  obtaiu  a  road  horse 
or  a  light  cart  horse.  The  Percheron's  trot  also  is 
faster  than  that  of  the  Clydesdale,  which  consti- 
tutes another  reason  for  his  superiority  in  this  di- 
rection. The  Clydesdale,  on  the  other  hand,  being  a 
more  rapid  walker  than  the  Percheron,  and  being  un- 
likely to  breed  smaller  animals  than  himself,  makes 
the  better  cross  when  the  object  is  to  produce  a 
heavy  cart  horse. 

Many  stories  are  told  of  feats  performed  by  Per- 
cherons,  some  of  wkick  I  kave  mentioned  in  tke  pre- 
ceding ckapter. 

M.  du  Hays,  equerry  to  Xapoleon  III.,  relates  tke 
following  :  "  In  1845,  a  gray  mare  accomplisked  tkis 
matck.  Harnessed  to  a  travelling  tilbury,  ske  started 
from  Bernay  at  tke  same  time  as  tke  mail  carrier 
from  Rouen  to  Bordeaux,  and  arrived  before  kim  at 
Alencon :  having  made  fifty-five  and  tkree  fifths 
miles,  over  a  hilly  and  difficult  road,  in  four  hours 
and  twenty-four  minutes." 

Another  case  vouched  for  by  M.  du  Hays  is  thus 
reported  :  "  A  gray  mare,  seven  years  old,  in  1864, 
harnessed  to  a  tilbury,  travelled  fifty-eight  miles  and 
back  on  two  consecutive  days,  going  at  a  trot  and 
without  being  touched  by  the  whip.  The  following 
time  was  made  :  the  first  day,  the  distance  was 
trotted  in  four  hours,  one  minute,  and  thirty-five 
seconds  ;  the  second  day.  in  four  hours,  one  minute, 
and  thirty  seconds.  The  last  thirteen  and  three 
quarters  miles  were  made  in  one  hour,  although  at 
about  the  fortv-first  mile  the  mare  was  obliged  to 
pass  her  stable  to  finish  the  distance." 


222         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

The  finest  Percheron  that  I  ever  saw  was  a  coal- 
black  stallion,  not  of  great  size,  high-headed,  com- 
pactly built,  with  flowing  mane  and  tail.  This  fellow 
had  short,  quick,  smooth  action,  exactly  like  that  of 
the  Morgan  roadster  family,  and  he  was  said  —  doubt- 
less truly  —  to  be  capable  of  trotting  ten  miles  an 
hour  with  ease.  The  resemblance  between  the  Mor- 
gan and  the  Arabian  horse  has  often  been  remarked 
upon,  and  it  was  honestly  come  by,  for  the  English 
thoroughbred  horse  that  sired  the  original  Justin 
Morgan  was  of  Arab  descent.  In  shape,  also,  as  well 
as  in  action,  there  is  again  a  resemblance  between  the 
Morgans  and  the  Percherons  ;  and  so,  on  the  whole, 
it  seems  not  unreasonable  to  infer  that  the  New  Eng- 
land roadster  and  the  French  cart  horse  have  a  com- 
mon origin,  both  being  descended,  not  wholly,  but 
largely,  from  the  "  primitive  horse,"  as  the  Arab  is 
sometimes  called. 

Xo  other  breed,  except  possibly  English  half-bred 
animals,  equals  the  Percheron  in  ability  to  draw  a 
heavy  load  at  a  fast  pace.  The  post  and  diligence 
horses  formerly  used  in  France,  as  we  have  seen,  were 
Percherons.  From  Boulogne  to  Paris  the  pace  was 
ten  miles  an  hour,  although  the  road  was  paved.  The 
harness  and  reins  were  of  rope,  and  the  hostlers  in 
charge  of  the  big  gray  horses  that  did  the  work  were 
women.  The  coachers,  before  being  put  to,  or  after 
they  had  been  taken  out,  would  often  engage  in  a 
fight  in  the  inn-yard,  biting  and  kicking  one  another 
viciously  ;  and  on  these  occasions  the  woman  hostler, 
who  was  quite  equal  to  the  emergene3r,  would  quickly 
appear  upon  the  scene,  and,  with  a  few  well  directed 
kicks  from  her  wooden  sabots,  put  an  end  to  the  com- 


CART    HORSES.  223 

bat.  The  gray  stallions  that  have  for  many  years 
drawn  the  omnibuses  of  Paris  were  always  of  Per- 
cheron,  or  of  the  kindred  Norman  stock. 

It  has  frequently  occurred  to  me  that  a  family  of 
superior  road,   and  perhaps  coach,  horses  might   be 
developed  by  crossing  the  Percheron  with  the  original 
Arab  breed.     Horses  thus  bred  could  not  fail  to  be 
sound,  tough,  gentle,  and,  I  should  think,  handsome. 
Certainly,  if  the  Percheron  is  really  derived  from  the 
Arab,  such  a  cross  would  give  size  to  the  latter  with- 
out introducing  any  element  so  foreign  as  to  result  in 
a  hybrid,  heterogeneous  sort  of  animal.      The  cross 
between  the  thoroughbred  and  the  cart  horse  does  not 
usually  turn  out  well ;    occasionally,  to  be  sure,  the 
produce  preserves  the  strength  and  size  of  one  family 
with  the  action  and  courage  of  the  other,  some  noted 
hunters  having  been  bred  in  this  way.     More  often, 
however,  the  half-bred  horse  of  this  description  is  a 
slab-sided,  nerveless  beast,  of  little  good  for  any  pur- 
pose.   But  between  the  Percheron  and  the  Arab  there 
is  an  affinity  sufficient  to  prevent  such  a  result  from 
their  union.     In  one  instance,  at  least,  this  has  been 
tried,  Mr.  Parker,   of   West   Chester,    Pennsylvania, 
having  bred  a  colt  by  the   Jennifer  Arabian,  out  of 
Kosa   Bonheur,   an  imported   Percheron  mare.     The 
horse  thus  bred  is  described  as   "a  wiry,  handsome 
colt,    who    was    sold    to    go    to    Oregon,   where   he 
proved  a  valuable  sire."     A  cross  between  the  Mor- 
gan and  the  Percheron  ought  to  be  equally  good. 

Large  numbers  of  Clydesdales,  and  Percherons  in 
still  greater  abundance,  have  been  imported  to  this 
country,  but,  unfortunately,  the  demand,  especially  at 
the  West,  has  been  for  very  big  horses.     The  conse- 


224  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

quence  is  that  the  Percheron  family  has  been  cor- 
rupted on  its  native  soil,  Flemish  and  other  inferior 
blood  being  introduced,  in  "order  to  get  the  immense 
size  wanted  for  the  foreign,  and  particularly  for  the 
American  market.  Many  of  the  Percherons  win- 
ning prizes  at  our  horse  shows  are  of  this  type,  — 
huge,  overgrown,  lethargic  creatures,  ungainly,  slow, 
and  wanting  in  endurance.  The  smaller  horses  of 
both  the  Clydesdale  and  Percheron  breeds,  the  lat- 
ter especially,  are  almost  invariably  the  better. 
M.  du  Hays  gives  the  height  of  the  true  Percheron 
stallion  as  ranging  from  14|  to  16  hands,  but  the 
height  of  Percheron  or  so-called  Percheron  stallions 
imported  to  this  country  varies  from  15^  to  17  hands. 
In  weight  they  vary  from  1,400  to  2,200  pounds ; 
the  average  being  about  1,700.  The  mares  average 
about  1,550  pounds  in  weight,  and  range  from  15  to 
16|  hands  in  height.  The  size  and  weight  of  the 
Clydesdale  importations  are  about  the  same,  whereas, 
if  the  best  and  purest  of  both  breeds  were  imported, 
the  Percherons  would  be  the  smaller. 

Fashion  and  caprice,  instead  of  knowledge  and  judg- 
ment, are  apt  to  determine  the  characteristics  even 
of  a  cart  horse.  In  the  West,  as  I  have  indicated, 
elephantine  animals  are  preferred ;  and  in  New  York 
the  favorite  cart  horse  is  a  big,  rangy,  high-standing 
beast.  In  Boston,  on  the  other  hand,  shorter-legged, 
broad-chested,  round-bodied,  short-backed,  quick-mov- 
ing horses  are  sought  for ;  and  this  type  is  undoubt- 
edly more  efficient  and  lasting,  besides  being,  as  I 
think,  a  great  deal  more  picturesque. 

Most  of  the  cart  horses  used  in  this  country  are 
raised   at  the   West,   though   many   also    come    from 


CART    HORSES.  225 

Pennsylvania.  It  is  doubtful  if  they  could  be  bred 
with  profit  in  New  England,  but  seemingly  it  would  be 
profitable  for  farmers  at  the  East  to  buy  Percheron, 
or  half-bred  Percheron.  or  Clydesdale  colts  at  the  age 
of  two  or  three,  work  them  moderately,  and  sell  them 
again  at  the  age  of  five  or  six.  Under  this  system, 
the  horses  would  come  to  the  market  in  much  harder, 
better  condition  than  the  corn-fed  animals  of  the 
West,  and  consequently  they  would  bring  a  better 
price.  Upon  the  farm,  the  colt  would  be  able  to  per- 
form enough  labor  to  pay  his  way ;  and  the  difference 
between  his  value  at  three  and  his  value  at  six  years 
of  age  would  be  clear  profit.  It  is  in  this  manner 
that  Percherons  are  brought  up  in  France ;  the  farm- 
ers who  buy  them  from  the  breeders,  farmers  also, 
working  them  moderately  until  they  are  of  an  age 
to  be  sold. 

The  enormous  shire  horses  that  are  used  in  London 
as  dray  horses  receive  their  education  in  the  same 
way.  "  The  traveller/'  says  an  English  writer,  "  has 
probably  wondered  to  see  four  of  these  enormous 
animals  in  a  line  before  a  plough,  on  no  very  heavy 
soil,  and  where  two  lighter  horses  would  have  been 
quite  sufficient.  The  farmer  is  training  them  for 
their  future  destiny ;  and  he  does  right  in  not  requir- 
ing the  exertion  of  all  their  strength,  for  their  bones 
are  not  yet  perfectly  formed  nor  their  joints  knit,  and 
were  he  to  urge  them  too  severely  he  would  probably 
injure  and  deform  them.  By  the  gentle  and  constant 
exercise  of  the  plough  he  is  preparing  them  for  that 
continued  and  equable  pull  at  the  collar  which  is 
afterwards  so  necessary." 

In  England  it  is  customary  to  use  heavy  shire  horses 

15 


226         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

on  the  farm,  and  they  are  of  an  almost  incredible 
slowness ;  so  slow  are  they,  in  fact,  that  William 
Day1  seems  almost  to  be  jusified  in  his  assertion  that 
agriculture  in  England  might  be  revolutionized  simply 
by  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  farm  horse.  In 
that  country,  a  team  of  horses  and  a  man  are  consid- 
ered to  have  done  a  fair  day's  work  if  they  have 
ploughed  three  quarters  of  an  acre,  and  more  than 
this  is  seldom,  if  ever,  accomplished.  In  the  United 
States,  on  the  other  hand,  the  ordinary  stint  is  about 
an  acre  and  a  half:  just  double  what  it  is  in  England. 
Day  estimates  that  in  drawing  a  load  of  a  ton  the 
English  farm  horse  walks  at  the  rate  of  one  mile  and 
a  half  an  hour,  whereas  a  coach  horse,  in  a  fast  coach, 
drawing  exactly  the  same  weight,  (but  not  covering 
more  than  nine  miles  in  a  day,)  travels  at  the  rate  of 
eleven  miles  an  hour.  A  more  exact  comparison  can 
be  made  with  van  or  furniture-wagon  horses.  Four 
of  these  will  travel  twenty -three  miles  in  a  day,  haul- 
ing six  tons,  at  the  rate  of  three  miles  per  hour :  just 
double  the  speed  of  the  farm  horse,  that  draws  one 
ton  instead  of  a  ton  and  a  half,  (which  would  be  the 
share  of  a  van  horse  in  a  team,)  and  goes  fourteen 
miles  instead  of  twenty-three. 

In  ploughing,  the  cart  or  shire  horse  walks  even 
slower,  doing  but  one  and  one  fourth  miles  in  the 
hour,  and  this  although  the  draught  is  estimated  at 
only  three  and  three  fourths  hundredweight.  "  Is  it 
any  wonder,  then,"  exclaims  the  writer  whom  I  have 
just  mentioned,  "  that  we  should  so  often  see  the  poor 
creatures  with  staring  coats  and  shivering  with  cold 
when  dawdling  along    against  this    mighty    draught, 

1  The  Horse :  how  to  Breed  and  Rear  Him. 


CART    HORSES.  227 

or  that  the  ploughman,  wrapped  up  in  a  top-coat  that 
might  resist  the  rigors  of  a  Siberian  winter,  creeps 
after  them,  as  frigid  and  benumbed  an  object  as  the 
animals  themselves !  " 

He  also  tells  the  following  incident,  vouching  for 
its  truth  :  "  A  farmer  who  lived  at  Longstock,  near 
Stockbridge,  many  years  ago,  was  one  day  walking 
about  his  farm  with  a  facetious  friend.  They  noticed 
a  plough,  with  horses  and  man,  in  the  middle  of  a  field, 
and  the  friend  suggested  that  it  was  standing  still. 
The  farmer  declared  it  was  moving,  and  a  dispute 
arose  and  ran  high  between  them  as  to  which  was  the 
case.  To  settle  the  question,  the}7  hit  upon  the  ex- 
pedient of  getting  a  fold-shore,  and  setting  it  up  in  a 
line  with  the  horses'  heads  and  some  conspicuous  ob- 
ject beyond.  But  the  ploughman  now  observed  them, 
and,  suspecting  what  they  were  about,  became  trou- 
bled in  conscience,  and  whipped  up  his  horses,  which 
then  quickened  their  pace,  so  that  the  fact  that  they 
were  really  moving  became  obvious  ;  and,"  says  the 
writer,  "  we  may  see  examples  of  the  same  sluggish- 
ness every  day  of  our  lives." 

In  the  United  States,  in  the  eastern  part  at  least, 
the  farm  horse  can  hardly  be  called  a  cart  horse,  for 
he  is  comparatively  light  in  build.  It  is  in  the  city 
that  we  find  the  cart  horse  in  his  noblest  form  and 
highest  condition,  and  there  he  will  doubtless  con- 
tinue, until  the  warehouses  crumble  to  dust  and  grass 
grows  in  the  highway.  The  car  horse  is  fast  disap- 
pearing ;  and  every  lover  of  dumb  animals  will  re- 
joice that  this  should  be  so,  for  the  electric  current 
that  invisibly  takes  his  place  has  no  capacity  for 
suffering. 


228 


ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 


The  heaving  flanks,  the  tortured  mouth,  the  nervous 
eye,  of  the  car  horse,  —  the  excruciating  sound  of  his 
iron-shod  hoofs  slipping  and  clashing  over  the  pave- 
ment in  a  vain  attempt  to  start  a  heavy  load,  —  these 
will  soon  be  things  of  the  past ;  and  the  animal  that 
was  but  one  of  a  thousand,  that  never  received  a 
kind  word  or  a  caress,  that  sweated  and  strained  and 
wore  himself  out  in  the  service  of  a  heartless  and 
impersonal  master,  will  have  been  released  by  Science. 
He  will  soon  become  but  a  memory  in  those  very 
streets  where  the  cart  horse,  more  fortunate  and  more 
lovable  animal,  seems  destined  to  walk  for  centuries 
yet  in  proud  security. 


IX. 


FIEE   HORSES. 


EVERYBODY  knows  that  a  fire-engine  horse  is 
a  large,  strongly  built,  handsome  animal,  with 
a  broad  forehead  and  an  intelligent  eye.  He  wears 
neither  check  nor  blinders,  and  is  never  blanketed, 
except  when  he  stands  out  in  the  street ;  but  his  coat 
is  nicely  groomed,  his  hoofs  are  well  oiled ;  he  is 
usually  in  the  pink  of  condition  ;  his  social  affections 
and  faculties  are  highly  cultivated ;  interested  looks 
follow  him  when  he  takes  his  daily  exercise ;  and, 
seen  in  full  progress  to  a  fire,  he  is  an  object  of  re- 
spect and  admiration,  almost  of  terror. 

His  work  is  different  from  that  of  any  other  horse 
in  the  world,  and  it  requires  a  peculiar  combination 
of  qualities.  The  fire  steed  must  be  able  to  draw  an 
extremely  heavy  load  at  a  smart  gallop  ;  in  short,  his 


230         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

function  is  that  of  a  running  draft  horse.  Engines, 
with  the  men  who  ride  on  them,  usually  weigh  about 
8,000  pounds,  or  four  tons  ;  some  are  a  thousand 
pounds  lighter ;  others  as  much,  or  nearly  as  much 
heavier.  The  chemical  engines  are  less  ponderous, 
varying  from  2,500  (this  kind  employs  but  one  horse) 
to  7,500  pounds.  The  hose  carriages  attached  to  the 
fire  engines,  and  drawn  by  one  horse,  are,  as  a  rule, 
about  half  the  weight  of  the  engines,  but  sometimes 
much  more.  Two-wheel  carts  were  formerly  used 
for  this  purpose,  but  they  have  been  superseded,  in 
Boston  and  in  most  other  cities,  by  four-wheel  wag- 
ons, which,  though  not  so  picturesque,  are  much  easier 
for  the  horse,  inasmuch  as  none  of  the  weight  comes 
upon  his  back. 

Hook  and  ladder  trucks,  with  their  men,  vary  in 
weight  from  4,350  to  10,600  pounds,  the  trucks  which 
reach  the  last  mentioned  figures  being  hauled  by  three 
horses,  harnessed  abreast.  This  form  of  " hitch'" 
is  also  coining  in  use  for  the  heavier  class  of  en- 
gines, or  "  steamers,"  as  they  are  called.  The  engines 
usually  lit  the  street  car  tracks,  which  is  a  great  ad- 
vantage ;  whereas  the  hook  and  ladder  trucks  are  too 
broad  for  this,  and  they  are  so  extremely  long  that  a 
large  part  of  the  weight  is  far  from  the  horses,  which 
of  course  makes  it  more  difficult  to  haul ;  but,  again, 
the  load  is  more  "springy,"  not  so  dead  as  that  of 
the  engine,  and  the  two  kinds  of  apparatus  are,  on  the 
whole,  about  equally  difficult  to  pull.  Some  of  the 
longest  ladder  trucks,  as  most  of  my  readers  know, 
are  provided  with  a  steering  contrivance  for  the 
hind  wheels,  so  that  the  helmsman,  who  sits  imme- 
diately above  the  axle,  is  able  to  turn  them  sharply 


FIRE    HORSES.  231 

in  going  around  a  corner.  By  this  device  the  neces- 
sity of  a  wide  turn  is  avoided,  and  the  driver  is 
able  to  "  cut "  the  corners  as  closely  as  if  he  had  an 
ordinary  length  of  vehicle  behind  him. 

Sometimes  a  tough  spiral  spring,  made  of  steel,  is 
inserted  in  the  trace  of  a  fire  horse's  harness,  near  the 
whifnetree,  the  object  being  to  lessen  the  strain  at 
starting.  This  ingenious  device  enables  the  horses 
to  exert  their  strength  against  a  yielding  connection 
instead  of  a  dead  weight,  —  a  certain  momentum  be- 
ing acquired  before  the  whole  load  moves.  On  the 
same  principle,  the  couplings  which  unite  a  train  of 
loaded  cars  must  be  somewhat  loose,  in  order  that  the 
locomotive  may  start  the  train.  Motion  is  then  com- 
municated from  the  first  car  to  the  second,  and  so  on, 
as  the  spectator  readily  perceives  ;  whereas,  if  all  the 
couplings  were  tense,  the  whole  train  would  have  to 
start  at  once.  The  spring  just  described  might  be 
used  with  all  draft  horses. 

In  the  city  proper,  where  most  of  the  runs  are 
short,  the  whole  distance  is  usually  covered  at  a  gal- 
lop, unless  some  hill  or  obstruction  intervenes  ;  and 
this  performance  tries  the  animal  of  whom  it  is  re- 
quired through  and  through,  so  that  if  there  be  a 
weak  spot  in  him  it  is  soon  discovered.  In  the  first 
place,  he  must  be  big  and  heavy.  Boston  fire  horses 
vary  from  1,200  to  1,600  pounds, — very  few  indeed 
quite  reaching  the  maximum,  and  most  of  them 
weighing  about  1,400  pounds,  —  rather  less  than  more. 
But  the  fire  horse  must  also  be  active,  as  well  as  big 
and  strong ;  he  must  have  good  feet,  good  wind,  and, 
finally,  to  execute  his  ordinary  task,  he  must  be  in 
hard  condition.      When  the  horses  are  first  bought, 


232         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


1     ^"-^^"-5 


they  are  almost  invariably  fat  and  soft ;  but  they  are 
immediately  assigned  to  a  station,  without  any  train- 
ing or  preparation.  Consequently,  they  must  be  hu- 
mored, and,  if  need  be,  restrained  somewhat,  during 
their  first  months  of  service.  Should  they  be  driven 
fast  at  this  time,  they  might  easily  become  "  touched 
in  the  wind,"  or  otherwise  disabled ;  and  this  some- 
times happens  through  careless  or  unskilful  driving. 
The  best  and  strongest  horse  in  the  world,  if  out  of 
condition,  cannot  safely  be  called  upon  for  an  ex- 
traordinary effort.  (There  is  a  hint  here,  by  the  way, 
for  fat  or  elderly  people  who  persist  in  running  for 
trains.) 

Elsewhere,  the  weight  of  fire  horses  is  commonly 
about  the  same  as  it  is  in  Boston.  In  Cambridge,  in 
Lynn  (which  has  an  excellent  department),  and  in 
Providence,  they  have  none  over  1,400  pounds  ;  in 
Chicago  the  limit  is  given  as  1,450 ;  but  in  Brooklyn 
comparatively  light  horses  are  used,  their  weight 
varying  from  1,150  to  1,350  pounds  ;  and  the  veteri- 
nary surgeon  attached  to  this  department  states  that 
he  prefers  those  approaching  the  minimum. 

As  a  rule,  short-legged  and  short-backed  horses  are 
the  best  for  drawing  engines.  It  is  indeed  a  general 
equine  principle  that  "  weight-pullers "  should  be 
formed  in  this  way :  they  are  more  nimble,  take 
shorter  steps,  and  recover  themselves  more  easily, 
than  longer-legged  and  longer-striding  animals.  The 
trotters  who  make  fast  records  to  skeleton  wagons 
(much  heavier  than  sulkies)  are  almost  invariably  of 
such  a  construction.  I  have  been  told  of  a  pair  of 
tough  roans  built  thus,  and  weighing  not  much  more 
than  1.200  pounds,  who  could  pull  a  heavy  engine  at 


FIRE    HORSES.  233 

wonderful  speed  ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  near  horse 
had  a  habit  of  balking  on  the  threshold  of  the  engine- 
house,  when  harnessed  for  a  fire,  which  so  delayed 
the  apparatus  that  his  subsequent  speed  did  not  make 
up  for  the  time  lost,  and  he  was  retired  to  private 
life. 

< >ne  of  the  best,  oldest,  and  lightest  engine  horses 
in  Boston  is  also  built  on  this  model.  He  is  a  rather 
plain  brown  fellow,  weighing  only  about  1,175  pounds, 
with  a  strong,  short  back,  splendid  shoulder,  and  stout 
limbs,  with  big  knees  and  short  cannon-bones.  His 
expression  is  extremely  gentle  and  intelligent.  At 
present  he  serves  as  the  off  horse  on  a  chemical  en- 
gine, his  mate  being  a  handsome  dapple  gray,  with 
white  flowing  tail.  The  brown  horse  is  reckoned  by 
the  enginemen  to  be  twenty-two  years  old,  having 
been  in  the  service  for  many  years.  I  suspect  that 
there  is  some  exaggeration  in  this  statement,  but  he 
is  certainly  an  old  horse.  His  mate  is  ten,  and  con- 
siderably larger,  but  the  two  step  well  together,  and 
make  a  fast  team.  Their  driver  assured  me  that  he 
had  once  given  the  protective  company  a  fair  beat- 
ing in  a  race  to  a  fire. 

Of  the  gray  horse,  a  good,  and  I  believe,  on  investi- 
gation, a  true  story  is  told.  In  the  same  building 
with  the  chemical  engine  is  an  ordinary  steam-en- 
gine, the  two  "  houses  "  being  connected  by  hallways. 
At  one  time  the  gray  horse  was  transferred  to  the 
other  engine,  and  put  in  one  of  the  stalls  behind  it. 
In  the  middle  of  the  first  night  after  this  change  had 
been  made,  an  alarm  of  fire  was  sounded.  The  steam- 
enginemen  tumbled  out  of  bed,  rushed  down  to  the 
engine  floor,  and  found  one  horse   standing   in   his 


234         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


?      luavu, 


place  by  the  pole?  ready  to  have  the  collar  fastened 
about  his  neck ;  but  the  gray  was  missing.  They 
looked  in  his  stall,  but  it  was  vacant ;  "  neither  hide 
nor  hair  of  him  "  could  be  found,  and  it  seemed  clear 
that  the  animal  had  been  stolen  by  some  bold  thief. 
Presently,  however,  a  horse  was  heard  moving  about 
in  the  adjoining  house,  and  it  proved  to  be  one  be- 
longing to  the  chemical  engine,  which  had  already 
gone  to  the  fire.  He  was  of  course  immediately  put 
in  the  place  of  the  missing  beast,  and  the  engine 
finally  got  under  way.  The  fact  was,  that  when  the 
alarm  sounded,  and  the  doors  of  the  stable  flew  open, 
the  gray  had  gone  to  his  old  place  on  the  chemical 
engine,  and  pushed  aside  the  horse  already  standing 
there,  who,  finding  that  he  was  not  wanted,  returned 
to  his  stall.  The  men,  in  the  hurry  of  the  moment, 
harnessed  such  animals  as  offered  themselves,  and 
were  off  without  discovering  the  mistake. 

There  is  a  reason  why  ladder  truck  horses  should 
be  taller  than  engine  horses  :  the  apparatus  which 
they  draw  is  at  a  much  higher  level  from  the  ground 
than  is  the  bulk  of  an  engine,  and  consequently  a 
low-standing  animal  would  waste  part  of  his  efforts 
in  pulling  downward  instead  of  pulling  forward. 
Some  ladder  truck  horses  are  shaped  in  one  impor- 
tant respect  like  Maud  S.,  Sunol,  and  other  fast  trot- 
ters and  runners,  namely,  higher  at  the  rump  than 
at  the  withers,  and  with  long  hind  legs.  This  is  not 
considered  a  good  conformation  for  a  cart  horse  ;  but 
it  seems  to  answer  well  where,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
ladder  truck,  horses  are  required  which  have  height 
and  speed  as  well  as  strength. 

Such  being  the  kind  of  horse  needed  for  fire   en- 


FIRE    HORSES.  '2-jO 

gines,  let  us  now  visit  a  new  recruit  in  his  quarters. 
The  weather  being  warm,  the  doors  of  the  house  are 
open,  a  rope  being  stretched  across  the  entrance.  Di- 
rectly in  front  of  us  stands  the  engine,  a  polished 
mass  of  copper  and  nickel,  with  scarlet  wheels.  The 
driver's  seat  is  a  small  box,  just  big  enough  to  hold 
him,  and  behind  it,  rolled  up  separately,  are  strapped 
the  blankets.  The  harness  is  suspended  from  the 
ceiling  in  such  a  manner  that  it  can  be  let  down  when 
the  horses  stand  under  it.  Back  of  the  engine,  and 
some  yards  distant  as  a  rule,  a  partition,  composed 
chiefly  of  doors,  runs  across  the  house.  Behind  this 
partition  are  the  stalls  ;  the  horses  facing  the  engine, 
and  the  front  of  each  stall  being  a  door,  with  a  win- 
dow in  it.  Bridles  are  worn  night  and  day,  the  bits 
being  slipped  out  when  the  animals  eat  their  oats,  but 
kept  in  while  they  chew  their  hay.  Some  horses, 
whose  mouths  are  tender,  are  bridled,  in  the  stable, 
with  the  bit  hanging  loose. 

Now,  then,  we  will  suppose  that  an  alarm  of  lire 
strikes,  the  hour  being  midnight.  The  horses  are 
lying  down,  out  of  sight  and  fast  asleep ;  the  men 
are  upstairs  in  bed,  —  all  save  one,  who  dozes  in  a 
chair  beside  those  mysterious  telegraphic  instruments 
grouped  in  a  corner  near  the  front  door.  The  gas 
burns  brightly,  but  there  is  not  a  sign  of  animation 
about  the  place.  It  is  all  so  miraculously  clean,  so 
neat,  well  ordered,  burnished,  and  polished,  so  nearly 
deserted,  so  absolutely  quiescent,  and  yet  so  bril- 
liantly lighted,  that  it  appears  rather  like  an  illusion 
than  a  reality.  The  engine  might  be  the  huge  and 
magnificent  toy  of  a  giant.  It  looks  much  too  fine 
for  real  use. 


236         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

But,  as  we  were  just  saying,  an  alarm  sounds,  and 
the  scene  changes.  In  a  corner  of  the  ceiling,  near 
the  front  door,  is  a  circular  opening,  through  which, 
rising  from  the  floor,  passes  a  shining  brass  pole. 
When  the  men  are  called  out,  theyr  throw  themselves 
on  this  pole,  and  come  down  like  a  flash  of  lightning  ; 
the  feet  of  the  second  man  almost  touching  the  head 
of  the  first,  and  so  on.  The  horses  scramble  on  their 
legs,  the  doors  in  front  of  them  fly  open,  and  out 
they  rush,  their  heavy  iron-shod  hoofs  thundering 
over  the  floor.  Each  horse  goes  to  his  proper  place ; 
the  driver,  from  his  seat,  lets  down  the  harness ;  two 
or  three  men  standing  at  the  pole  snap  the  collars  to- 
gether, fasten  the  reins  to  the  bits,  and  off  they  go. 
There  is  nothing  more  to  be  done  :  the  girths  are  not 
used  in  running  to  a  fire  ;  the  traces  are  already  at- 
tached to  the  whiffletrees  and  the  pole-straps  to  the 
collars,  so  that  the  fastening  of  two  collars  and  four 
reins  constitutes  the  harnessing.  Often,  perhaps  com- 
monly, the  horses  are  harnessed  and  everything  is 
ready  for  a  start  before  the  gong  has  finished  telling 
the  number  of  the  box.  Half  a  minute  is  about  the 
maximum  time  for  companies  in  a  first  class  depart- 
ment to  make  ready  and  leave  the  house  ;  and  the 
ordinary  time  is,  I  believe,  fifteen  or  twenty  seconds. 
The  fire  marshal  of  the  Chicago  department  informs 
me  that,  "  on  the  test  of  a  certain  engine,  with  men 
in  bed  and  horses  in  stalls,  the  hind  wheels  of  the 
apparatus  crossed  the  threshold  in  eleven  seconds." 
For  the  Brooklyn  department  the  time  is  given  as 
"  from  four  to  eight  seconds,  according  to  distance  of 
horses  from  the  engine." 

To  teach  a  green  nag  to  come  out  of  his  stall  at  the 


FIRE    HORSES.  237 

signal,  and  range  himself  alongside  the  pole,  is  not  so 
difficult  as  might  be  imagined.  We  will  suppose  that 
a  span  of  new  horses  are  assigned  to  a  certain  engine, 
the  old  pair,  as  is  the  custom,  being  taken  away  at  the 
same  time.  The  surroundings  are  strange  and  more 
or  less  terrible  to  them,  but  they  are  handled  very 
gently  and  carefully,  and  gradually  lose  their  fears. 
The  schooling  begins  at  once,  the  driver  being  as- 
sisted by  the  other  men.  The  ordinary  signal  is  given, 
as  if  for  a  fire ;  the  stall  doors  open ;  the  horses  are 
led  out,  put  in  position,  harnessed,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes led  back ;  and  then  the  process  is  repeated  per- 
haps half  a  dozen  times.  Great  pains  are  taken  that 
the  animals  shall  not  strike  against  anything,  or  by 
any  means  become  frightened.  The  unusual  spectacle 
of  a  harness  suspended  in  the  air  is  apt  to  disturb  them 
at  first,  but  they  are  led  slowly  up  to  it,  induced  to 
smell  of  it,  to  inspect  it  on  all  sides,  and  thus  to  learn 
that  it  is  perfectly  harmless.  In  the  same  way  they 
are  made  familiar  with  all  the  other  objects  about 
them,  being  continually  patted  and  encouraged. 

The  chief  traits  of  the  horse  are  the  great  strength 
of  his  memory,  especially  of  his  faculty  of  association, 
and  his  timidity.  The  fireman's  task,  therefore,  is 
first  to*  convince  his  pupil,  by  gentle  treatment,  that 
no  harm  threatens  him,  and  then  to  establish  a  con- 
nection in  his  mind  between  the  proper  signal,  the 
opening  of  the  stall  door,  and  a  progress  thence  to  his 
station  by  the  engine  pole.  After  being  led  to  their 
positions  what  it  is  thought  may  prove  a  sufficient 
number  of  times,  the  horses  are  allowed  to  come  out  at 
the  signal  of  their  own  accord,  a  man  standing  behind 
to  touch  them  up  a  little  if  they  do  not  start  promptly 


238         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE 


when  the  gong  sounds  and  the  doors  open.  Of  course 
no  two  horses  learn  with  equal  rapidity,  and  the  dif- 
ference between  them  in  this  respect  is  greater  than 
might  be  supposed.  Two  weeks  constitute  about  the 
average  period  of  instruction,  during  which  time  two 
or  three  lessons  a  day  are  given :  but  horses  have 
been  known  to  learn  in  one  lesson;  and  others, 
again,  have  been  months  in  arriving  at  the  same 
proficiency. 

A  pair  of  gray  horses,  newly  purchased  for  an 
engine  in  Boston,  were  led  out  three  times  in  the 
manner  just  described.  They  were  then  left  to  them- 
selves: the  gong  sounded,  the  stall  doors  opened,  and 
the  pair  trotted  out,  each  going  to  his  place  alongside 
the  pole.  They  had  caught  the  idea  at  once.  These 
horses  are  remarkable  not  only  for  intelligence,  but 
for  strength  and  speed.  They  are  both,  and  the  off 
one  especially,  of  a  type  different  from  that  of  any 
other  fire  horses  that  I  have  seen,  being  very  tall  (the 
off  one  is  seventeen  hands),  rangy,  slightly  wasp- 
waisted,  and  having  fine,  thin  necks,  and  small,  well- 
bred  heads.  These  nags  are  built  after  the  fashion 
of  the  once  famous  Conestoga  horses  of  Pennsylvania. 
They  are  great  gallopers,  and  the  hose-wagon  steed  has 
hard  work  to  keep  up  with  them  ;  but  this  too- is  a  re- 
markable animal.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest  horses  in 
the  department,  having  served  ten  years,  and  being, 
naturally,  a  little  stiff  in  the  legs ;  but  his  strength  is 
so  great  and  his  courage  so  good  that  even  these  pow- 
erful, flying  grays  cannot  draw  away  from  him.  He 
is  a  big  brown  horse,  with  a  great  shoulder,  the  best 
of  short  legs,  and  a  noble  countenance.  His  original 
cost  was  the  unusually  large  sum  of  $450,  but  the  bar- 


FIRE    HORSES.  289 

gam  has  proved  a  good  one  for  the  city.  Old  as  he 
is,  being  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  at  least,  he  is 
thought  to  have  made  the  best  run  of  his  life  a  few 
weeks  ago,  galloping  all  the  way  to  the  fire,  a  distance 
of  a  mile  or  more.  A  little  blood  trickled  from  his 
nostrils  when  he  pulled  up  behind  the  engine,  but 
otherwise  he  seemed  none  the  worse  for  the  immense 
exertion. 

Another  big  horse,  of  the  greyhound  type  already 
described,  —  that  is,  having  long  hind  legs  and  stand- 
ing higher  at  the  rump  than  at  the  withers,  —  was 
four  months  in  learning  the  business.  He  is  a  gray, 
with  a  long,  rather  coarse  head,  and  small  "  mouse  " 
ears  out  of  proportion  to  his  size,  for  he  weighs  1,380 
pounds ;  but  this  evidently  mongrel  beast  is  not  al- 
together devoid  of  intelligence,  being  steady  enough 
on  the  street  to  serve  as  a  leader  when  three  horses 
are  used,  and  on  one  occasion,  when  the  whiffletree 
fell  on  his  legs,  he  refrained  from  running  away. 
This  horse  is  used  with  a  ladder  truck,  and  his  edu- 
cation was  finally  accomplished  by  fencing  in  his 
path  from  the  stall  to  the  pole  with  ladders,  a  method 
often  employed. 

Sometimes  it  is  not  want  of  mind,  but  nervousness, 
which  makes  a  lire  horse  slow  to  learn  the  trade,  just 
as  some  nervous  children  have  difficulty  in  applying 
their  minds.  Such  was  the  case  with  Peter,  a  well- 
bred  black  horse,  used  for  many  years  in  Boston  with 
a  ladder  truck.  Peter  was  a  noble,  strong,  spirited 
animal,  and,  once  taught,  he  became  as  prompt  and 
trustworthy  as  any  horse  in  the  department.  On  one 
occasion,  shortly  after  his  purchase,  Peter,  exasper- 
ated by  the  schooling,  broke  away  from  his  instructors, 


240  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

jumped  cleanly  through  an  open  window  without 
touching  the  sash,  and  ran  down  the  street  in  search 
of  amusement.  At  another  time,  while  waiting  in 
the  blacksmith  shop,  his  shoes  having  been  taken  dff, 
but  not  yet  replaced,  Peter  heard  the  twelve  o'clock 
alarm  strike.  This  he  knew  indicated  the  hour  of 
his  dinner,  and  accordingly  Peter  made  off,  without 
saying  "  By  your  leave  "  to  the  smith,  and  presently 
appeared  at  the  ladder-house  door,  neighing  for  ad- 
mission. 

This  fine  animal  met  with  a  sad  fate  not  long  ago. 
While  running  to  a  fire,  he  came  in  collision  with  one 
of  the  protective  wagons,  and  his  leg  was  broken  in 
two  places,  so  that  he  had  to  be  shot  where  he  fell 
in  the  street.  Something  even  worse  happened  sev- 
eral years  ago  to  a  fire-engine  horse  in  Boston.  He 
was  struck  by  the  pole  of  another  engine,  which  came 
out  of  its  house  just  as  the  first  engine  dashed  by ; 
the  force  of  the  blow,  unknown  to  his  driver,  broke 
the  animal's  leg,  but  he  kept  on,  travelling,  of  course, 
on  three  legs  only,  and  pulling  his  share  of  the  im- 
mense weight  behind  him,  till  the  place  of  the  fire 
was  reached,  nearly  or  quite  one  quarter  of  a  mile 
further.  Then  the  poor  beast  dropped  to  the  ground, 
never  to  rise  again.  The  fire  horse  is  subject  to  ac- 
cidents like  these,  but  we  must  remember  that  the 
fireman's  danger  is  greater  yet. 

It  happens  occasionally  that  a  horse  is  bought  who 
proves  to  be  altogether  too  nervous  for  the  business : 
he  is  in  a  continual  state  of  tension,  will  not  eat  unless 
taken  out  of  his  stall,  and  is  so  worried  with  appre- 
hension of  an  alarm  that  it  is  impossible  to  use  him 
as  a  fire  horse.     In  a  few  other  cases,  the  nervousness, 


FIRK    HORSES.  241 

though  not  so  extreme,  is  sufficient  to  disturb  the 
animal's  health,  to  impair  his  digestion,  to  prevent 
his  taking  the  needed  amount  of  rest,  so  that  event- 
ually he  too,  after  being  doctored  perhaps  for  an 
imaginary  disease,  is  transferred  to  some  more  peace- 
ful occupation. 

Now  that  we  have  seen  how  a  fire-engine  horse  is 
instructed,  and  where  he  lives,  it  might  be  interest- 
ing to  know  in  what  manner  his  daily  life  is  ordered. 
He  takes  breakfast,  in  Boston,  at  five  or  half  past, 
in  some  houses  as  late  as  six  o'clock,  —  the  meal  con- 
sisting, as  a  rule,  of  two  quarts  of  oats.  After  break- 
fast, he  receives  a  thorough  grooming,  and  about  ten 
o'clock  he  goes  out  to  walk  for  an  hour,  with  an 
occasional  trot,  one  horse  of  a  pair  being  ridden  and 
the  other  led.  At  half  past  eleven  or  twelve  he  has 
dinner, — two  quarts  of  oats  again, —  which  also  is  the 
allowance  for  supper,  at  half  past  five  or  six.  Some 
old  and  some  delicate  horses  have  nine  quarts  of  oats 
per  day.  Usually  a  bran  mash  is  given  once  a  week, 
and  in  some  houses  a  little  bran  is  fed  every  day.  In 
the  afternoon  the  horse  has  another  hour  of  exercise, 
supposing  that  no  fire  has  occurred.  '  Hay  is  allowed 
at  night  only,  and  in  most  of  the  houses  it  is  fed  from 
the  floor,  so  that  the  horse  can  eat  it  while  lying 
down.  For  several  reasons  this  method  is  far  better 
than  feeding  from  a  rack,  especially  for  the  fire  horse, 
who  takes  a  long  while  to  eat  his  hay,  inasmuch  as  the 
bit  remains  in  his  mouth.  In  most  cities  the  grain 
allowance  is  about  the  same  as  it  is  in  Boston,  al- 
though in  Chicago  the  horses  are  fed  just  twice  as 
much,  twelve  quarts  per  day,  and  in  Brooklyn,  as  I 
am    informed,   the    allowance   varies   from  twelve   to 

16 


242  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

eighteen  quarts,  which  is  excessive.  In  Chicago,  it 
would  seem,  the  fire  horses  do  more  work  than  is  re- 
quired in  Boston.  Ten  companies  in  the  heart  of 
that  city  average  thirty-six  runs  per  month ;  whereas 
in  Boston  the  average  varies,  according  to  the  situa- 
tion, from  eight  or  ten  to  twenty-five  runs  per  month. 
In  the  suburbs  many  companies  do  not  go  out  more 
than  once  a  week,  on  the  average.  The  hour  for  bed- 
ding down  varies  from  half  past  five  to  eight  p.  m.,  at 
the  discretion  of  the  driver.  It  would  be  better  to 
make  this  duty  obligatory  at  the  earlier  hour,  and 
better  yet  if  the  bedding  were  left  under  the  horses 
by  day  as  well  as  by  night,  especially  in  the  case  of 
those  companies  which  do  the  most  work.  The  more 
a  horse  lies  down,  the  longer  his  legs  and  feet  are 
likely  to  endure ;  and  by  the  supply  of  a  soft  and 
perpetual  couch  he  can  often  be  induced  to  lengthen 
his  hours  of  repose. 

At  eight  p.  m.,  it  is  the  custom  all  over  the  city  to 
call  the  horses  out  and  harness  them  to  the  engine, 
and  at  this  time  visitors  are  apt  to  drop  in.  Both 
firemen  and  horses  are  always  well  known  in  the  vi- 
cinity, and  many  civilities  pass  between  the  neighbors 
and  the  occupants,  human  and  equine,  of  the  engine- 
houses.  The  children  especially  are  friends  with  the 
horses,  calling  them  by  their  names,  and  often  treat- 
ing them  to  candy  and  other  luxuries.  In  fact,  when- 
ever a  fire-engine  horse  is  introduced  to  a  stranger,  he 
expects  to  receive  some  dainty,  and  will  poke  his  nose 
in  the  visitor's  hands  and  pockets ;  nor  is  he  easily 
discouraged  by  failure  to  find  anything,  being  evi- 
dently convinced  that  nobody  would  be  quite  so  mean 
as  to  enter  his  stable  without  bringing  at  least  a  lump 
of  sugar  or  the  fraction  of  an  apple. 


FIRE    HORSES.  243 

There  is  a  handsome  gray  horse  in  the  Central 
Station,  in  Boston,  who  has  a  great  liking  for  ice,  and, 
when  out  for  exercise,  he  can  never  be  persuaded  to 
pass  an  ice  wagon  without  first  thrusting  his  head  in 
behind  and  helping  himself  to  a  small  piece.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  the  firemen  make  great  pets  of 
their  four-footed  companions,  and  are  a  little  inclined 
to  exaggerate  their  good  qualities,  —  "  the  finest  pair 
in  the  department"  being  discovered  in  almost  every 
engine-house.  There  is,  too,  a  favorite  horse  at  each 
station,  —  not  always  the  strongest  or  handsomest,  but 
the  most  affectionate,  docile,  and  sociable ;  and  the 
visitor  is  always  taken  first  to  this  animal's  stall, 
whose  virtues  are  thereupon  extolled  with  generous 
enthusiasm. 

From  December  to  April  every  engine-house  in 
Boston  contains  an  equine  guest,  as  an  extra  horse  for 
making  up  a  "  spike  team,"  in  case  the  streets  are 
blocked  with  snow.  Usually  this  horse  is  not  owned 
by  the  department,  but  is  loaned  by  an  ice  company  or 
a  contractor,  —  his  keep  being  reckoned  as  payment 
for  his  services.  The  new-comer  does  not  serve  as  a 
leader :  one  of  the  regular  team  is  put  in  that  post, 
the  extra  horse  taking  the  other's  place  at  the  pole. 
Some  of  the  engine  horses  show  great  intelligence 
and  discretion  as  leaders.  On  one  occasion  a  spike 
team  was  dashing  through  a  narrow  street,  where 
there  was  barely  room  to  get  between  a  wagon  on  one 
side  and  a  light  carryall,  with  women  and  children  in 
it,  on  the  other.  The  driver  found  that  he  had  no 
control  over  his  leader,  and  feared  a  bad  accident; 
but  the  horse  threaded  his  way  so  carefully  and  accu- 
rately that  the  engine  swept  past  the  carriage  without 


244         ROAD,  TKACK,  AND  STABLE. 

touching  it.  When  the  engine  stopped,  it  appeared 
that  the  leader's  bit  was  hanging  loose,  and  that  he 
had   served  as   his   own   driver. 

This  same  animal,  a  big  bay  horse,  is  also  cred- 
ited with  some  clever  work  in  his  own  interest.  Im- 
mediately in  the  rear  of  his  stall  was  a  slide  where 
the  oats  came  down,  as  he  had  full  opportunity  to 
observe  at  feeding  time.  But  how  could  he  get  them  ? 
He  was  confined  in  his  stall,  not  of  course  by  a  hal- 
ter, but  by  a  rope  stretched  behind  him,  and  fastened 
by  an  ordinary  open  hook.  First,  he  discovered  that, 
with  some  difficulty,  he  could  turn  in  the  stall  far 
enough  to  get  hold  of  the  rope  with  his  teeth,  and 
after  many  attempts  he  succeeded  in  unhooking  it. 
It  was  then  an  easy  task  to  step  across  to  the  slide, 
pull  it  open  with  his  teeth,  and  thus  set  running  the 
reservoir  of  grain  above.  Two  or  three  times  he  was 
found,  after  achieving  this  feat,  standing  in  a  deluge 
of  oats,  and  industriously  stowing  them  away  in  a 
compartment  furnished  by  nature.  But  the  firemen 
checkmated  him  by  putting  on  the  rope  a  snap  hook, 
closed  by  a  spring ;  and  there  it  may  be  seen,  at  once 
proving  the  occurrence  and  preventing  its  repetition. 

There  is  another  sagacious  leader,  called  John,  one 
of  a  span  of  large,  handsome,  dark,  mottled  grays,  used 
on  a  ladder  truck.  These  are  among  the  very  finest 
horses  in  the  Boston  department :  they  are  strong  and 
symmetrical,  with  small,  clean-cut  heads,  large  eyes, 
and  courageous  but  gentle  expression.  John,  espe- 
cially, is  as  kind  as  a  dog,  a  favorite  with  the  women 
and  children  of  the  neghborhood,  a  great  pet  of  the 
firemen,  and  quiet  as  a  mouse  in  the  stable,  but  on  the 
street  full  of  life  and  animation,  and  playful  enough 


FIRE    HORSES.  215 

to  have  thrown,  at  one  time  and  another,  everybody 
who  has  ridden  him  to  exercise,  except  the  captain. 
John's  sense  of  discipline  is  so  strong  that  he  draws 
the  line  there.  While  used  as  a  leader  his  stall  is 
different  from  the  usual  one ;  and  when  on  one  occa- 
sion, having  occupied  it  for  some  weeks,  the  third 
horse  was  dispensed  with,  and  John  was  put  back  in 
his  old  quarters,  he  rightly  and  sagaciously  concluded 
that  his  former  place  on  the  engine  should  also  be  re- 
sumed, and  accordingly,  at  the  next  alarm,  he  ran  to 
the  pole,  instead  of  going  in  front. 

The  finest  engine  horse  that  I  have  seen  is,  I  think, 
the  near  one  of  a  dark  gray  team  used  in  Boston. 
This  is  what  horsemen  call  "a  big  little  "un,"  that  is, 
a  stout  animal  on  short  legs.  He  is  a  comparatively 
small  horse,  standing  15  hands  3  inches,  and  weighing 
1,320  pounds  ;  but  he  is  big  where  bigness  is  required. 
He  has  a  broad  chest,  a  tremendous  shoulder,  deep 
lungs,  a  big  barrel,  a  short  back,  and  strong  hind 
quarters.  His  legs  are  flat  and  clean,  his  feet  of  just 
the  right  size,  and  he  has  a  broad  forehead  and  an  in- 
telligent eye.  Possibly  his  shoulder  is  a  little  too 
upright,  and  there  is  a  suspicion  of  hollowness  in  his 
back,  but  otherwise  he  seemed  to  me  an  ideal  engine 
horse.  His  mate  is  handsomer  in  some  respects,  and 
more  gentle,  but  a  trifle  too  long  in  the  back  and 
legs. 

Beside  the  engine,  hose-wagon,  and  ladder  truck 
horses,  there  are  others,  used  to  haul  coal  and  sup- 
plies, to  carry  men  and  tools  for  the  repair  of  wires, 
etc.  These  are  chiefly  old,  partly  broken  down  ani- 
mals, no  longer  fit  for  the  hard  and  rapid  work  of 
running  to  fires.     Then  there  are  smaller  nags,  weigh- 


246         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

ing  from  950  to  1,050  pounds,  employed  by  the  engi- 
neers in  their  light  wagons.  These  horses,  especially 
such  as  are  used  by  the  chief  engineer,  get  more 
practice  in  running  to  fires  than  any  others,  and  they 
become  very  clever  in  picking  their  way  through  a 
crowded  street,  breaking  into  a  gallop  whenever  they 
see  an  open  space  before  them,  and  pulling  up  promptly 
to  avoid  collisions.  The  tough,  intelligent,  short- 
stepping  Morgan  is  excellently  adapted  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  one  of  that  breed  has  been  used  for  eight 
years  past  by  the  veterinary  surgeon  connected  with 
the  Boston  department.  Another,  used  by  a  district 
engineer,  is  of  about  the  same  size  and  pattern,  and  of 
the  same  gamy  disposition. 

The  protective  (insurance)  Avagon  steeds,  though 
not,  strictly  speaking,  belonging  to  the  fire  depart- 
ment, should  not  be  disregarded  in  this  account, 
They  show  more  "  quality "  than  fire-engine  horses, 
weigh  less  (about  1150  pounds),  stand  higher  in  pro- 
portion, and  look  like  powerful  coach  horses.  There 
are  two  protective  wagons  in  Boston :  one  in  the  heart 
of  the  city,  which  weighs,  with  the  men,  about  7,800 
pounds ;  and  the  other,  which  is  much  lighter,  at  the 
South  End.  One  or  both  of  these  wagons  respond  to 
every  alarm  of  fire  in  the  city,  so  that  the  horses 
attached  to  them  do  a  great  deal  of  work.  On  a  cer- 
tain Fourth  of  July,  one  of  these  companies  was 
called  out  on  nineteen  different  occasions  in  the 
twenty-four  hours ;  the  horses  not  becoming  cool 
enough  throughout  that  time  to  be  fed,  and  being 
supported  by  draughts  of  oat  meal  and  water. 

The  arrangements  in  the  protective  houses  differ, 
for  the  worse,  from  those  of  the  fire  department.    The 


FIRE    HORSES.  247 

stalls  are  in  the  main  room  where  the  wagon  is  kept, 
and  at  the  back  of  the  building  is  an  entrance,  the 
doors  of  which  are  apt  to  be  open.  The  animals  are 
thus  exposed  to  strong  and  frequent  draughts,  very 
bad  for  horseflesh ;  and  they  are  also  continually  an- 
noyed by  the  noise,  by  the  glare  of  lights  kept  burn- 
ing all  night,  and  by  the  coming  and  going  of  visitors 
and  officials.  The  object  of  this  arrangement  is,  of 
course,  to  save  time ;  but  if  the  horses  stood  six  feet 
farther  back,  and  were  protected  by  a  partition,  prob- 
ably only  one  or  two  seconds  more  would  be  required 
to  bring  them  to  the  pole.  Moreover,  they  are  so 
often  out  at  night  that  the  suggestion  already  made 
in  regard  to  engine  horses  applies  with  more  force  to 
those  engaged  in  this  service,  namely,  that  bedding 
should  be  left  under  them  at  all  times.  In  the  South 
End  house  the  stalls  are  open  at  both  ends,  so  that 
the  horses  stand  in  a  thoroughfare  for  cold  breezes  ; 
and  this  was  formerly  the  case  in  the  other  station. 
In  the  latter  house  there  were  for  eight  years  a  very 
fine  pair  of  grays,  who  were  sold,  not  for  unsoundness, 
but  because  they  were  worn  out  by  want  of  rest. 
One  of  them  also  became  vicious.  The  fact  is,  that, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  man,  the  horse  is  the 
most  nervous  animal  in  the  world,  and  the  least  able  to 
endure  continual  and  multiplied  annoyances.  These 
grays  were  last  seen  drawing  a  hack,  and  they  have 
probably  long  since  passed  to  some  lower  and  more 
painful  stage  of  equine  degradation. 

Connected  with  a  fire  department  there  is  usually 
a  veterinary  hospital,  and  in  Boston  this  is  situated 
on  Tremont  Street;  being  part  of  the  building  in 
which  a  ladder  truck  is  stationed.     It  consists  of  a 


248  ROAD,   TRACK,   AND    STABLE. 

single  box  stall  and  several  straight  stalls,  but  the 
health  of  the  horses  is  looked  after  so  carefully  that 
these  accommodations  are  sufficient.  When  I  visited 
the  place  it  contained  but  two  patients.  One  was  a 
tine  gray  engine  horse,  who,  while  running  to  a  fire, 
came  in  collision  with  a  "tow"  horse,  and  was  thrown 
down.  His  knees  and  hind  legs  were  badly  cut,  but 
none  of  these  injuries  proved  serious,  and  he  was 
soon  on  the  road  to  recovery.  The  other  patient,  also 
an  engine  horse,  was  suffering  from  a  bad  leg,  caused 
partly  by  improper  shoeing,  and  partly  by  the  state 
of  his  blood.  With  the  exception  of  these  two,  all 
the  horses  in  the  department,  numbering  about  two 
hundred,  were  in  working  order,  —  an  excellent 
showing. 

Fire  horses,  as  a  rule,  give  out  first  and  chiefly  in 
their  feet.  Standing  so  much  as  they  do  on  wooden 
floors,  their  feet  have  a  tendency  to  become  dry  and 
hard,  but  this  is  counteracted  by  a  permanent  stuffing 
of  tar  and  oakum,  held  in  place  by  a  leather  pad. 
Almost  all  the  fire  horses  of  Boston  wear  these  pads, 
and  usually  on  the  hind  as  well  as  on  the  fore  feet. 
In  other  cities,  the  same  result  is  accomplished  by 
periodical  stuffing  of  the  feet  with  some  one  of  the 
many  materials  which  horsemen  use  for  this  purpose. 

The  worst  trouble,  however,  arises  from  the  con- 
cussion produced  in  the  foot  by  the  hard  paving-stones 
of  the  city.  This  is  bad  enough  for  any  horse,  but 
especially  bad  for  the  fire  horse,  because,  owing  to  his 
great  weight,  his  galloping  speed,  and  his  heavy  load, 
he  pounds  his  feet  with  tremendous  force.  Often  a 
pair  of  engine  horses  whose  feet  have  begun  to  give 
out  are  transferred  to  a  suburban  station,  where,  the 


FIRE    HORSES.  249 

roads  being  less  hard  and  alarms  less  frequent,  they 
go  on  very  well  for  some  years  longer.  Great  pains 
are  taken  with  the  shoeing,  which  is  under  the  direct 
charge  of  the  accomplished  Vet  employed  by  the 
department.  Horses  used  in  the  city  proper  wear 
corks  on  all  their  feet,  to  give  them  a  better  grip  on 
slippery  pavements,  car-tracks,  etc. ;  but  in  the  suburbs 
corks  are  dispensed  with,  the  shoes  without  them 
having  this  advantage,  —  that  they  let  the  foot  down 
lower,  so  that  it  supports  the  weight  of  the  horse  in  a 
more  natural  position.  The  frog  of  the  foot  is  in- 
tended by  nature  to  lessen  the  concussion  by  receiving 
part  of  the  blow  itself  ;  but  with  an  ordinary  shoe, 
especially  with  one  having  corks,  this  function  of  the 
frog  is  very  imperfectly  discharged,  the  frog  being 
kept  off  the  ground  by  the  shoe.  What  the  city  fire 
horses  (perhaps  I  might  say,  what  horses  in  general) 
need  is  some  method  of  shoeing  which  will  protect 
the  wall  of  the  foot,  and  at  the  same  time  allow  the 
frog  to  come  in  contact  with  the  ground.1 

Fire  horses  also  throw  their  shoes  very  frequently^ 
catching  them  in  car-tracks  and  other  projections.  In 
fact,  a  team  can  hardly  go  to  a  fire  without  losing  at 
least  one  shoe  among  them ;  and  the  continual  re- 
shoeing  tends,  of  course,  to  wear  away  the  hoof.  It 
is  desirable,  therefore,  to  make  it  grow  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible, and  for  this  purpose  it  is  kept  well  oiled.     Ev- 

1  Possibly  this  result  might  be  accomplished  satisfactorily  by 
the  Charlier  process,  which  consists  in  channelling  the  wall  of  the 
foot  at  its  base,  and  inserting  in  the  circular  groove  so  formed  a 
steel  shoe.  By  this  method  the  walls  of  the  foot  are  protected  as 
with  the  ordinary  shoe,  but,  the  foot  not  being  raised  from  the 
ground,  the  frog  comes  into  play,  just  as  if  no  shoe  at  all  were 
worn. 


250  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

ery  driver  has  his  own  specific,  upon  the  peculiar  and 
wonderful  properties  of  which  he  will  descant  with 
much  enthusiasm ;  but  the  best  of  them  is  probably 
not  more  efficacious  than  a  rag  tied  about  the  coronet, 
and  kept  well  moistened  with  cold  water. 

Despite  the  severity  of  their  occasional  labors  and 
the  hard  usage  to  which  their  feet  are  subjected,  fire 
horses  in  Boston  last  a  considerable  time.  They  are 
bought,  usually,  at  the  age  of  five  or  six  years  (cost- 
ing about  $325),  and  they  remain  in  service,  on  the 
average,  about  seven  or  eight  years.  In  other  cities 
their  duration  and  cost  are  nearly  the  same.  In  Cam- 
bridge, where  few  of  the  streets  are  paved,  fire  horses 
are  said  to  last  from  seven  to  ten  years  ;  but  in  Brook- 
lyn this  period  is  put  as  low  as  six  years,  —  about  the 
length  of  time  that  a  car  horse  endures. 

In  Boston  there  are  at  least  half  a  dozen  veterans 
of  ten  years'  standing,  and  some  who  have  served  as 
fire  horses  even  longer  than  that.  The  old  hose-cart 
horse  of  whom  I  have  spoken  already  has  a  record 
of  at  least  ten  years'  service.  There  is  another  sea- 
soned Houyhnhnm,  —  a  dark  chestnut,  of  the  same 
heavy,  low-standing  shape,  who  has  seen  twelve  win- 
ters in  the  business.  About  five  years  ago  it  was 
thought  that  he  ought  to  have  an  easier  life,  and  ac- 
cordingly he  was  transferred  to  an  outlying  station, 
where  fires  seldom  occur.  But  on  the  occasion  of  the 
first  alarm  to  which  he  responded  the  old  fellow  bolt- 
ed, and  made  a  complete  wreck  of  the  hose-cart  by 
dashing  it  against  a  stone  wall.  This  was  his  protest 
at  being  removed  from  the  house  to  which  he  had 
become  accustomed,  and  from  the  society  of  his  fa- 
miliar friends,  human  and  equine ;  and  so  he  was  put 


PIBE    HORSES.  251 

back  in  the  old  place,  where  he  still  remains  in  full 
employment.  He  is  reckoned  to  be  seventeen  years 
old,  and  he  has  a  contemporary,  also  a  hose  horse, 
who  entered  the  department  in  the  same  year. 

This  is  Grief,  so  named  because  of  his  melancholy 
aspect.  He  has  a  way  of  standing  with  his  fore  legs 
wide  apart,  his  head  hanging  down  between,  and  a 
doleful  expression  of  the  face.  A  visitor,  who  saw 
him  once  in  this  attitude,  remarked  that  he  would 
make  a  good  "  image  of  Grief,"  and  the  name  seemed 
so  appropriate  that  it  was  adopted  by  common  consent. 
"  Grief "  is  duly  inscribed  in  large  letters  over  his 
stall,  and  as  Grief  he  is  known  through  the  depart- 
ment and  to  all  the  neighbors.  Grief  is  a  remarkable 
horse ;  in  color  a  rich  mottled  brown,  and  in  shape 
much  resembling  the  other  old  horses  already  de- 
scribed. He  has  a  massive,  well  formed  shoulder, 
strong,  straight  fore  legs,  powerful  hind  quarters  (too 
long  a  cannon-bone,  however),  a  good  neck,  slightly 
arched,  a  rather  intelligent,  clean-cut  head,  but  mulish 
ears.  His  peculiarity  is  a  philosophical,  phlegmatic 
disposition.  He  has  a  hearty  appetite  and  a  sound 
digestion,  but  he  never  shows  the  least  impatience  for 
his  meals.  Other  horses  paw  and  neigh  when  they 
hear  the  premonitory  rattle  of  the  oat-box,  but  Grief 
never  betrays  the  least  sign  of  curiosity  or  of  interest. 
The  children  of  the  vicinity  often  come  to  this  house 
to  give  the  horses  candy,  and  the  span  of  bays  who 
draw  the  engine  always  recognize  their  benefactors, 
and  will  follow  them  about  the  stable.  But  Grief, 
though  glad  enough  to  be  fed,  never  takes  the  slightest 
notice  of  any  visitor  beyond  swallowing  what  is  of- 
fered to  him.     He  sleeps  a  great  deal,  ruminates  still 


252         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

more,  and  allows  nothing  outside  of  business  to  dis- 
turb or  excite  him  ;  and  hence,  no  doubt,  his  excellent 
state  of  preservation. 

But  Grief  awakes  when  the  alarm  strikes.  How- 
ever long  or  steep  the  road,  however  fast  may  gallop 
the  stout  young  bays  in  front,  he  always  keeps  up 
with  the  engine.  The  strength  and  nervous  force 
that  he  accumulates  in  the  stable  Grief  expends  lav- 
ishly on  the  way  to  a  fire.  His  eye  is  then  full  of 
spirit;  his  expanded  nostrils  display  the  red  glow 
within ;  his  neck  curves  to  the  task ;  his  splendid 
shoulder  strains  against  the  collar.  He  looks  twice 
the  size  of  the  horse  that  was  dozing  in  his  stall  a  few 
minutes  before.  Arrived  at  the  scene  of  action,  he 
draws  up  as  close  as  possible  to  the  engine.  Grief 
likes  to  get  where  the  sparks  fall  in  showers  about 
him,  and  there  he  will  stand,  shaking  his  head  to  dis- 
lodge the  burning  particles,  pleased  with  the  shrieks 
and  roar  of  the  engine,  with  the  shouts  of  the  men, 
with  the  smoke  and  flame  of  the  conflagration.  At  a 
great  fire  in  Boston  on  Thanksgiving  day,  1889,  the 
engine  which  he  followed  was  burned  within  twenty- 
five  minutes  after  it  left  the  house ;  but  Grief  stood 
by  it,  firm  as  a  rock,  till  the  flames  came  near  and  he 
was  hurried  away  by  his  driver. 

The  patriarch  of  the  department  is,  however,  not 
Grief,  but  another  horse,  stationed  in  East  Boston,  and 
called  Old  Joe.  His  age  is  variously  estimated,  but 
I  gather  that  it  is  at  least  twenty  years,  and  possibly 
twenty-four.  Joe  is  not  so  impassive  as  Grief ;  he  is 
more  like  the  rest  of  us,  being  swayed  by  curiosity, 
touched  by  social  affections,  and  dependent  upon  so- 
ciety.    He  has  a  gentle,  intelligent,  courageous  eye, 


FIRE    HORSES.  1^53 

and  a  good  head.  His  great  age  is  indicated  by  an 
extremely  hollow  back,  but  otherwise  he  is  still  a 
grand-looking  horse.  He,  too,  is  a  mottled  bay  or 
'brown,  and  not  unlike  Grief,  except  that  he  is  even 
larerer.  In  fact,  the  four  old  fire  horses  whom  1  have 
particularly  described  would  have  made  a  great  team 
in  their  youth,  —  broad-chested,  deep-lunged,  low- 
standing,  short-backed  fellows,  with  immense  shoul- 
ders, roomy  stomachs,  and  strong  hind  quarters.  Joe 
is  now  an  engine  horse.  His  mate,  though  in  com- 
parison with  him  a  mere  colt,  is  in  truth  an  oldish 
beast ;  and  the  two  agreed  some  time  ago  that  they 
would  trot  out  no  more  from  their  stalls  when  the 
alarm  sounded  (having  as  it  seemed  to  them,  done 
that  sort  of  thing  quite  long  enough),  but  would  pro- 
ceed from  the  stable  to  the  pole  at  a  dignified  walk. 
This  resolution  has  been  kept.  The  firemen  have 
tried  to  hurry  them,  but  without  success,  Rattan 
rods  (such  as  schoolboys  used  to  be  whipped  with) 
are  hung  behind  their  stalls,  and  descend  automati- 
cally when  the  alarm  strikes  ;  but  the  old  horses  laugh 
at  this  gentle  flagellation ;  they  refuse  to  hurry  their 
pace,  and,  alone  among  the  fire  horses  of  Boston,  they 
advance  with  slow  and  measured  step  from  the  stable 
to  the  engine  house. 

The  only  remaining  question  which  we  have  to  ask 
is  this  :  What  becomes  of  them  all  ?  What  fate  is  in 
store  for  Old  Joe,  for  Grief,  for  that  veteran  hose- 
cart  steed,  who  gallops  with  his  heavy  load  till  the 
blood  runs  from  his  nostrils  ?  When  thoroughly 
worn  out,  fire  horses  are  sold,  or,  more  commonly, 
handed  over  to  a  dealer  in  part  payment  for  new  ani- 
mals.    In  some  cities,  in  Brooklyn,  in  New  York  also. 


254 


ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


I  believe,  they  are  disposed  of  at  auction ;  and  inas- 
much as  a  certain  distinction  attaches  to  them  even  in 
decrepitude,  they  always  bring  a  little  more  than  they 
are  worth  as  beasts  of  burden.  At  most,  however,- 
they  sell  for  a  song,  Broken  down  horses  are  bought 
by  poor  men  ;  they  have  scant}'  fare,  little  or  no  cloth- 
ing, hard  boards  to  lie  on,  and.  commonly,  severe  toil 
to  endure. 

The  cast-off  fire  horse  must  sadly  miss  his  good  oats 
and  hay,  his  clean,  warm  stable  and  comfortable  bed, 
his  elaborate  grooming  and  gentle  treatment,  his  com- 
panions, brute  and  human,  the  caresses  and  sweet- 
meats to  which  he  was  daily  treated.  Eemoved  from 
all  these  luxuries,  his  life  broken  up  by  a  sudden  and 
painful  revulsion,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  equine 
veteran,  who  spent  his  best  years  in  helping  to  save 
our  property  from  destruction,  must  very  shortly 
present  a  spectacle  of  misery  and  despair.  The 
next  bony  animal  that  the  reader  sees  pulling  a 
tip-cart  may  be  a  once  proud  and  petted  fire  horse, 
for  whom  the  only  possible  boon  is  now  the  axe  of 
the  knacker. 


X. 


ARABIAN   HORSES. 


THERE  is  no  other  race  in  the  world  by  whom 
good  birth  is  valued  so  highly  as  it  is  by  the 
Bedouins  of  Arabia.  And  yet  in  their  form  of  gov- 
ernment these  nomadic  clans  are  the  most  democratic 
of  people.  Every  Arab  finds  himself  the  member  of 
a  tribe,  but  if  he  chooses  to  leave  it,  he  can  do  so 
without  let  or  hindrance.  He  may  take  refuge  with 
strangers,  or  pitch  his  tent  in  solitude  and  isolation. 
Even  when  the  majority  determine  upon  war  or  upon 
some  warlike  expedition,  the  minority  are  not  obliged, 
either  by  law  or  by  public  opinion,  to  join  with  their 
fellows.  They  stay  at  home,  if  they  prefer,  without 
discredit.  Each  tribe  has  a  leader,  a  sheikh,  elected 
by  universal  suffrage,  but  his  authority  is  very  lim- 
ited, and  his  commands  are  enforceable  only  so  far 


256  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

as  they  commend  themselves  to  the  popular  judg- 
ment. The  sheikh  is  an  agent  rather  than  a  ruler. 
All  matters  of  real  importance  are  decided  by  vote. 
The  sheikh  leads  the  tribe  to  new  camping-grounds, 
settles  small  disputes,  transacts  political  business, 
entertains  strangers,  and  keeps  open  house  at  all 
hours  of  the  day  and  night.  This  last  is  perhaps  his 
chief  function.  The  humblest  shepherd  addresses  the 
sheikh  by  his  Christian  name,  and  neither  in  dress 
nor  in  conduct  does  he  affect  any  superiority.  More- 
over, the  possession  of  wealth  will  not  procure  a  man 
distinction  or  respect  among  the  Bedouins,  any  more 
than  the  possession  of  office  ;  and  this  is  remarkable, 
because  the  Bedouins  love  money  to  the  point  of 
avarice. 

But  to  high  birth  the  Arab,  democrat  though  he  be, 
renders  homage  most  sincere.  There  are  among  the 
Bedouins  certain  families  of  traditional  good  breed- 
ing. For  such  families  a  respect  almost  reverential  is 
shown  5  and  it  is  from  their  members  that  the  sheikhs 
are  usually  chosen,  isor  is  this  high  value  errone- 
ously attached  to  noble  blood.  Good  breeding  and 
good  birth  are  nearly  always  found  together  in  the 
desert,  and  the  sheikhs  are  commonly  distinguished 
by  the  quiet  elegance  and  dignity  of  their  manners. 
If  a  sheikh  be  deficient  in  this  regard,  he  is  almost 
invariably  a  man  of  inferior  origin,  raised  to  com- 
mand by  force  of  his  own  talents  and  energy. 

The  respect  which  the  Bedouins  have  for  high 
birth  in  their  horses  is,  if  possible,  even  greater, 
becoming  absolutely  fanatical.      Lady  Anne    Blunt J 

1  Mr.  Wilfrid  Blunt  and  his  wife,  Ladv  Anne  Blunt,  made  two 
journeys  to  the  desert,  and  their  observations  are  recorded  in  two 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  257 

speaks  of  the  reports  which  reached  her  party  in  the 
desert  as  to  the  extraordinarily  fine  pedigree  of  a  par- 
ticular horse  owned  by  a  certain  old  man.  "  '  Maneghi 
Ibn  Sbeyel '  [the  title  of  the  horse's  family],  they  kept 
on  repeating  in  a  tone  of  tenderness,  and  as  if  tasting 
the  flavor  of  each  syllable."  The  travellers  made  a 
considerable  detour  in  order  to  see  this  famous  ani- 
mal. When  they  arrived  at  the  tent  of  his  owner, 
they  found  that  he  had  gone  to  borrow  a  donkey  for 
the  purpose  of  moving  the  family  furniture  to  a  new 
camp ;  for  "  a  horse  of  the  Maneghi's  nobility  could 
not,  of  course,  be  used  for  baggage  purposes."  Pres- 
ently, however,  the  old  man  appeared,  riding  his 
high-born  steed,  which  proved  to  be  "  a  meek-looking 
little  black  pony,  all  mane  and  tail." 

Mr.  Blunt  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  Arabian 
horse  is  degenerating  through  in-breeding,  and  more 
especially  because  animals  of  the  best  families,  though 
individually  inferior,  are  preferred  to  superior  indi- 
viduals, but  members  of  families  belonging  to  an 
inferior  rank.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain 
that  the  extraordinary  excellence  of  the  Arabian 
horse  in  his  present  form  could  never  have  been  de- 
veloped or  maintained  had  it  not  been  for  the  ex- 
treme care  which  the  Bedouins  bestow  upon  equine 
descent. 

They  have  no  written  pedigrees  ;  it  is  all  an  affair 
of   memory  and  of   notoriety  in  the    tribe.     Certain 

interesting  books,  written  chiefly  by  Lady  Anne.  These  are,  "  The 
Bedouin  Tribes  of  the  Euphrates,"  and  "  Our  Pilgrimage  to  Nejd." 
They  lived  among  the  Bedouins  for  some  time,  and  what  they  re- 
port about  the  Arabian  horse,  his  qualities,  his  descent,  and  the 
families  in  which  he  is  grouped,  agrees  in  all  substantial  respects 
with  the  account,  presently  to  be  mentioned,  given  by  Major  Upton. 

17 


258  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

alleged  pedigrees  of  Arabian  horses,  couched  in 
romantic  language,  and  represented  as  carried  in  a 
small  bag  hung  by  a  cord  around  the  animal's  neck, 
have  been  published ;  but  these  are  forgeries,  gotten 
up  probably  by  horse-dealers,  Egyptian,  Syrian,  or 
Persian.  The  breeding  of  every  horse  is  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge,  and  it  would  be  impossible  for 
his  owner  to  fabricate  a  pedigree  so  as  to  deceive  the 
natives,  even  if  he  were  so  inclined.  The  Bedouins, 
it  seems  necessary  to  admit,  are,  in  general,  great 
liars ;  and  they  will  lie  (to  a  stranger)  about  the  age, 
the  qualities,  or  the  ownership  of  a  horse  ;  but  they 
will  not  lie  about  his  pedigree,  even  when  they  can  do 
so  with  impunity.  To  be  truthful  on  this  subject  is 
almost  a  matter  of  religion,  certainly  a  poiDt  of  honor, 
in  the  desert. 

How  far  back  do  these  pedigrees  run,  and  what 
was  the  origin  of  the  Arabian  horse  ?  These  ques- 
tions it  is  impossible  to  answer  definitely.  The  Bed- 
ouins themselves  believe  that  Allah  created  the  equine 
genus  in  their  soil.  "  The  root  or  spring  of  the  horse 
is,"  they  say,  "  in  the  land  of  the  Arab " ;  and  again, 
"  It  was  Allah  who  created  him,  for  the  happiness  of 
believers." 

This  pious  belief  is  shared  by  a  few  generous  souls 
in  England  and  America,  a  small  but  devoted  band, 
who  gallantly  defend  the  cause  of  the  Arabian  horse 
against  his  only  rival,  the  modern  English  thorough- 
bred. Chief  among  these  faithful  was  the  late  Major 
R.  D.  Upton,  who  visited  the  desert  himself,  and  who 
has  recorded  his  experiences  and  his  views.1     Major 

1  "  In  Newmarket  and  Arabia,"  a  small  book,  which  was  first 
published  in  1873 ;  "  Gleanings  from  the  Desert,"  a  later  work 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  259 

Upton  concluded  that  the  horse  was  found  in  Arabia 
"  not  later  than  about  one  hundred  years  after  the 
deluge,  ...  if  indeed  he  did  not  hud  his  way  there 
immediately  after  the  exodus  from  the  ark,  which  is 
by  no  means  improbable,"  and  this  probability  the 
author  then  proceeds  seriously  to  consider.  Accord- 
ing to  Major  Upton  and  a  few  kindred  spirits,  all 
other  breeds  are  mongrels,  and  the  only  way  to  obtain 
horseflesh  in  its  best  and  purest  form  is  to  go  back  to 
the  fountain  head,  to  the  horse  of  the  desert. 

Naturalists,  I  believe,  have  not  yet  determined 
where  the  genus  originated ;  but  they  gather  that 
three  allied  animals,  the  tapir,  the  rhinoceros,  and 
the  horse,  have  all  descended  from  a  common  ances- 
tor of  the  eocene  period.  Of  these  three,  the  tapir 
and  the  rhinoceros  certainly  are  found  in  many  parts 
of  the  world.  The  immediate  precursor  of  the  horse 
was  the  small  animal  called  Equida,  which  was  ex- 
ceedingly common  both  in  America  and  in  Europe. 
Fossil  skeletons  have  also  been  found  in  almost  every 
part  of  America,  varying  but  slightly  from  the  skel- 
eton of  the  present  horse,  although  externally  the 
animals  which  they  represent  may  have  differed  from 
him  as  widely  as  does  the  zebra.  It  is  possible, 
therefore,  that,  contrary  to  the  usual  opinion,  horses 
existed  on  this  continent  in  a  wild  state  before  the 
coming  of  the  Spaniards.  These  facts  as  to  the  wide 
distribution  of  both  the  ancestors  and  the  first-cousins, 
so  to  say,  of  the  primitive  horse,  tend  to  show,  al- 
though of  course  they  fail  to  prove,  that  he  also  was 

only  a  part  of  which,  however,  is  deA*oterl  to  horseflesh ;  and  a  paper 
concerning  Arabian  Horses,  published  in  Fraser's  Magazine  for 
September,  1876. 


260         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE 


j         -LAt^-V^, 


widely  distributed,  not  confined  even  to  the  salubrious 
region  of  Arabia. 

But  there  is  one  argument  in  favor  of  the  Arabian 
being  the  primitive  horse,  which  I  have  chanced  upon, 
and  which  I  here  present  to  those  enthusiasts  who 
will  appreciate  it.  There  is  a  conjecture  of  Darwin's 
that  the  dark  stripe  running  along  the  spine  of  some 
horses,  and  occasionally  extending  to  the  shoulders 
and  legs,  may  indicate  a  "  descent  of  all  the  existing 
races  from  a  single  dun-colored,  more  or  less  striped 
primitive  stock,  to  which  our  horses  occasionally  re- 
vert." In  the  Cleveland  Bay  family  this  dark  stripe, 
or  "list,"  is  valued  as  a  mark  of  pure  blood;  it  is 
found  also  in  the  Exmoor  breed  of  ponies,  and  in  some 
other  strains. 

Now  Major  Upton  reports  an  observation  made  by 
him  upon  horses  in  the  desert  as  follows :  "  A  line 
somewhat  darker  than  the  general  color  of  the  animal 
is  to  be  seen  in  colt  foals,  running  in  continuation  of 
the  mane  along  the  spine,  and  to  be  traced  for  some 
way  even  among  the  long  hair  of  the  tail.  I  never 
saw  it  in  a  filly.  ...  It  can  be  traced  in  old  horses 
and  in  those  of  a  very  dark  color.  ...  It  appears  as 
the  first  or  primitive  color  of  the  animal,  which  tones 
away  by  almost  imperceptible  degrees  from  the  back 
to  the  belly;  it  may  be  seen  in  lines  on  the  males  of 
other  wild  animals.  At  certain  seasons,  and  as  the 
horse  ages,  and  dependent  also  in  some  degree  on  his 
condition,  the  dark  color  spreads  over  the  shoulders 
and  upper  parts  of  the  body,  ...  as  if  shaded  with 
black."  To  be  sure.  Major  Upton  states  that  this  phe- 
nomenon is  "  totally  different  from  the  markings  of 
the  zebra,  quagga,  or  any  of  the  hybrids  " ;  but  never- 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  261 

theless  it  seems  to  lie  essentially  the  same.  Zebras 
and  quaggas  are  of  the  equine  family ;  and  this  pecu- 
liar marking  of  the  Arabian  horse  would,  on  Darwin's 
hypothesis,,  indicate  that,  if  not  himself  the  primitive 
horse,  he  at  least  stands  nearer  to  that  animal  than 
does  any  other  existing  equus. 

However,  this  discussion  has  no  practical  value,  nor 
is  it  essential  even  for  the  Arabo-maniacs  to  prove 
their  case  historically.  This  fact  is  sufficient,  and  can- 
not be  controverted,  namely,  that  the  Arabian  horse 
is  the  only  one  now  extant  of  a  fixed  type.  His 
antiquity  is  such  that  in  comparison  with  him  all 
other  breeds  are  mongrels  of  yesterday.  It  is  con- 
jectured that  he  dates  back  to  the  time  of  Ishmael ; 
and  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  the  present  breed 
existed  in  the  days  of  Mahomet. 

This  is  antiquity  enough.  The  English  racer,  as  I 
have  stated,  is  a  modern  product,  his  stud-book  dat- 
ing from  the  year  1808.  According  to  the  standard 
of  the  desert,  therefore,  the  English  horse  is  a  par- 
venu ;  and  although  he  is  bigger,  stronger,  and  faster 
than  the  Arab,  he  is  less  sound,  beautiful,  intelligent, 
and  gentle.  Moreover,  as  must  be  the  case  with  a 
new  breed,  the  English  thoroughbred  varies  greatly 
in  size,  in  shape,  and  in  many  other  characteristics ; 
whereas  the  Arabian,  though  each  family  has  its  pe- 
culiarities, is  much  more  nearly  of  one  type,  and  al- 
most of  one  size.  Pure  Arabians  range  from  14  to 
15  hands,  being  commonly  about  14.2.  Very  rarely 
one  stands  as  low  as  13.3,  or  as  high  as  15.1.  An 
English  officer,  speaking  of  Arabian  horses  as  racers, 
says,  "  They  can  all  gallop  about  equally  fast." 

In  estimating  the  Arabian  horse,  or  in  comparing 


262  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

him  with  his  English  contemporary,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  an  Arabian  of  absolutely  pure  breed  is 
an  animal  -which  few  European  eyes  have  ever  looked 
upon.  Of  all  the  Oriental  horses  imported  to  England 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  upon  which,  in  great 
part,  the  English  thoroughbred  is  founded,  only  one, 
the  famous  Darley  Arabian,  procured  by  Mr.  Darley 
in  the  latter  part  of  Queen  Anne's  reign,  is  known 
to  have  been  of  pure  lineage.  It  is  probable  that 
no  thoroughbred  Arabian  horse  has  yet  reached  our 
shores,  except  Kismet,  a  stallion  recently  brought 
over,  who  died  a  few  hours  after  landing ;  and  per- 
haps the  only  Eastern  mare  of  that  degree  ever  in 
the  United  States  is  Naonii,  a  late  importation  from 
England,  to  which  country  she  was  taken  by  Major 
Upton. 

There  are  no  wild  horses  in  Arabia,  although  there 
is  a  widespread  belief  to  the  contrary.  This  animal, 
as  an  old  writer  explains,  "can  live  only  of  man's 
hand  in  the  droughty  Khdla."  The  pure-bred  Arabian 
horses  are  the  possession,  almost  exclusively,  of  a 
single  great  Bedouin  clan,  known  as  the  Anazeh,  and 
of  this  clan  a  tribe  called  the  Gomussa  have  the  best. 
Even  among  the  Bedouins,  apart  from  the  Gomussa, 
there  are  not  many  animals  of  the  highest  stamp. 
"  I  doubt,"  says  Mr.  Blunt,  "  if  there  are  two  hundred 
really  first-class  mares  in  the  whole  of  Northern  Ara- 
bia. By  this  I,  of  course,  do  not  mean  first-class  in 
point  of  blood,  for  animals  of  the  purest  strains  are 
still  fairly  numerous,  but  first-class  in  quality  and 
appearance  as  well  as  blood." 

Across  Central  Arabia  extends  a  vast  territory 
called  the  Nejd,  composed  of  sandy  deserts  and  rich 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  263 

pastures.  This  whole  region  is  a  plateau,  and  the 
atmosphere  is  dry  and  bracing.  It  is  under  such 
conditions  that  horses  thrive,  and  here  was  the  origi- 
nal home  of  the  Arabian  horse.  In  Flanders,  where 
the  air  is  humid,  and  the  pastures  are  moist  and  rank, 
horses  grow  large,  but  they  have  flat  feet,  inferior 
sinews,  lymphatic  temperaments,  and  soft  hearts. 
Flemish  nags  have  been  imported  largely  to  England 
for  many  hundred  years,  being  cheap,  big,  and  showy ; 
bnt  they  have  always  been  noted  for  their  lack  of 
endurance.  Even  among  thoroughbreds  unsoundness 
is  frequent  in  the  British  Isles,  due  in  great  part  to 
the  moist  climate.  The  English  horse,  when  trans- 
planted to  India  or  to  Australia,  becomes  much  im- 
proved in  the  quality  of  his  feet  and  legs,  and  this 
improvement  is  doubtless  the  effect  chiefly  of  a  drier 
climate. 

The  Anazeh  spend  their  winters  in  the  Nejd,  mi- 
grating in  spring  as  far  as  the  Euphrates,  and  it  is 
among  the  wandering  tribes  of  this  clan  that  the 
Arabian  steed  in  his  purity  must  be  studied.  The 
Anazeh,  and  the  Bedouins  in  general,  keep  their 
mares,  but  sell  many  of  their  horses,  and  it  is  from 
the  horses  thus  sold,  crossed  with  inferior  mares, 
that  the  animal  known  in  Europe  and  in  India  as 
an  Arab  is  bred.  The  Bedouins  call  these  half-breds 
"the  sons  of  horses,"  and  they  look  upon  them,  as 
well  as  upon  all  other  breeds  but  their  own,  with 
the  greatest  contempt,  stigmatizing  them  as  kadishes, 
or  mongrels.  The  desert  is  almost  surrounded  by 
horse-growing  countries,  and  it  is  touched  here  and 
there  by  great  horse  markets.  On  the  west  and 
northwest   is    Syria,    where    many    of    these    bastard 


264         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

Arabs,  the  "sons  of  horses,"  are  raised.  The  chief 
horse  market  of  Syria  is  Damascus,  on  the  shore 
of  the  desert.  Opposite,  on  the  eastern  shore,  in 
almost  a  straight  line  from  Damascus,  is  Bagdad,  the 
capital  of  Turkish  Arabia,  another  great  horse  mar- 
ket ;  and  south  of  Bagdad,  between  the  Euphrates 
and  the  Tigris,  there  is  a  wide  stretch  of  country 
where  many  half  Arabs  are  bred,  chiefly  for  sale  in 
India. 

The  Arabian  horses,  so  called,  that  are  found  in 
Turkey,  especially  in  Constantinople,  in  Egypt,  in 
Syria,  and  in  India,  are  not  the  true  coursers  of  the 
desert,  but  their  "  sons."  They  are  commonly  gray, 
and  hence  the  popular  idea  that  gray  is  the  normal 
color  of  the  Arabian  horse.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Bedouins  prefer  bay  with  black  points, — not  objecting 
to  three  white  feet,  —  and  this  is  the  most  frequent 
color  among  the  Anazeh  mares  ;  next  comes  chestnut, 
then  gray.  Black  is  a  rare  and  inferior  color.  White 
horses  are  much  esteemed,  but  seldom  occur.  Roans, 
piebalds,  duns,  and  yellows  are  never  found  among 
pure-bred  Arabs.  The  two  Arabian  stallions  sent  to 
General  Grant  as  a  present  from  the  Sultan  of  Tur- 
key, in  1876,  are  both  grays,  and  though  they  were 
supposed  to  be  pure  bred,  the  probability  is,  I  can- 
not help  thinking,  that  they  are  kadishes,  "  sons  of 
horses,"  not  horses  themselves.  Neither  monev  nor 
high  office  can  command  the  flower  of  the  desert. 
Even  Abbass  Pasha  had  only  a  few  really  thorough- 
bred mares,  and  yet  he  spent  five  million  dollars  in 
gathering  his  famous  stud  at  Cairo. 

This  man  appears  to  have  had  a  notable  passion 
for   horseflesh.      On   one    occasion   he   despatched   a 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  265 

special  mission  to  Medina  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
procuring  a  rare  work  on  farriery.  At  another  time 
he  sent  a  bullock  cart  from  Egypt  all  the  way  to 
Nejd  to  bring  home  a  famous  mare,  old  and  unable 
to  travel  on  foot,  that  he  had  purchased  from  the 
Anazeh.  A  Bedouin,  who  had  been  sent  to  Cairo  by 
one  of  the  chiefs  of  Nejd,  was  shown  over  the  vice- 
roy's stables,  bv  order  of  that  official.  On  being: 
asked  his  opinion  of  the  blood,  he  replied  frankly 
that  the  stables  did  not  contain  a  single  thorough- 
bred. He  added  an  apology  on  the  part  of  his  chief 
for  the  animals  which  he  had  just  brought  to  the 
viceroy  from  Arabia,  declaring  that  neither  Sultan 
nor  sheikh  could  procure  colts  of  the  best  strain. 

Bagdad  is  on  the  very  edge  of  the  desert,  and  the 
Pasha  of  that  place  has  unlimited  resources ;  but 
Mr.  Blunt  says :  "  Although  his  Excellency's  horses 
were,  as  a  lot,  good  of  their  kind,  they  were  very 
different  from  real  Arabs  ;  and  on  comparing  them 
with  those  of  the  Anazeh  their  inferiority  was  con- 
spicuous, and  their  history  could  easily  be  under- 
stood.    They  were  very  nearly  all  gray." 

In  the  centre  of  Arabia,  in  the  district  of  Nejd  and 
on  the  border  of  the  desert,  is  the  city  of  Hail,  where 
for  many  years  has  existed  the  famous  stud  of  the 
Emir  of  Hail.  Emissaries  of  this  dignitary  are  con- 
stantly on  the  lookout  for  mares,  wherever  they  can 
find  them,  and  not  infrequently  ghdzus,  or  maraud- 
ing expeditions,  have  been  sent  out  by  the  Emir 
against  this  or  that  tribe,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
capturing  some  particular  mare  whose  fame  had 
spread  over  the  desert.  It  was  of  the  animals  in 
this  stud  that  Mr.   TV.  G.  Palgrave's  oft-quoted  de- 


266         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

scriptiou   was   written.     Out   of  his    two    interesting 
volumes  1  this  passage  alone  lias  survived  :  — 

"  Remarkably  full  in  the  haunches,  with  a  shoulder 
of  a  slope  so  elegant  as  to  make  one,  in  the  words  of 
an  Arab  poet,  '  go  raving  mad  about  it ' ;  a  little,  a 
very  little  saddle-backed,  just  the  curve  which  indi- 
cates springiness  without  any  weakness  ;  a  head  broad 
above,  and  tapering  down  to  a  nose  fine  enough  to 
verify  the  phrase  of  '  drinking  from  a  pint  pot ' ;  .  .  . 
a  most  intelligent  and  yet  a  singularly  gentle  look ; 
full  eye  •,  sharp,  thornlike  little  ears ;  legs,  fore  and 
hind,  that  seemed  as  if  made  of  hammered  iron,  so 
clean  and  yet  so  well  twisted  with  sinew ;  a  neat, 
round  hoof,  just  the  requisite  for  hard  ground ;  the 
tail  set  on,  or  rather  thrown  out,  at  a  perfect  arch, 
coat  smooth,  shining,  and  light;  the  mane  long,  but 
not  overgrown  nor  heavy  ;  and  an  air  and  step  that 
seemed  to  say,  '  Look  at  me,  am  I  not  pretty  ? '  — 
their  appearance  justified  all  reputation,  all  value,  all 
poetry.  The  prevaling  color  was  chestnut  or  gray. 
A  light  bay,  an  iron  color,  white  or  black,  were  less 
common.  .  .  .  But  if  asked  what  are,  after  all,  the 
specially  distinctive  points  of  the  2s"ejdee  horse,  I 
should  reply,  the  slope  of  the  shoulder,  the  extreme 
cleanness  of  the  shank,  and  the  full,  rounded  haunch, 
though  every  other  part  too  has  a  perfection  and  a 
harmony  unwitnessed  (at  least  by  my  eyes)  anywhere 
else." 

And  yet  Mr.  Blunt  says  of  this  same  stud :  "  Of 
all  the  mares  in  the  prince's  stable,  I  do  not  think 
more  than  three  or  four  could  show  with  advantage 
among   the    G-omussa."      He    admits,    however,   that 

1  "  Central  and  Eastern  Arabia." 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  267 

their  heads  were  handsomer  than  those  of  the  Anazeh 
mares.  The  latter  are  built  more  nearly  on  a  race- 
horse model,  having  greater  length  of  body  and  of 
limb.  The  Nejd *  horses  are  perhaps  prettier,  though 
not  so  bloodlike.  Unlike  the  Anazeh  mares,  they 
stand  higher  at  the  withers  than  at  the  rump. 
"  Every  horse  at  Hail,"  writes  Mr.  Blunt,  "  had  its 
tail  set  on  in  the  same  fashion ;  in  repose  some- 
thing like  the  tail  of  a  rocking-horse,  and  yet  not,  as 
has  been  described  [by  Mr.  Palgrave],  thrown  out 
in  a  perfect  arch.'  In  motion  the  tail  was  held 
high  in  the  air,  and  looked  as  if  it  could  not  under 
any  circumstances  be  carried  low." 

It  has  been  suggested  that  this  phenomenon  is 
partly,  at  least,  the  effect  of  art;  that  before  the 
foal  is  an  hour  old  its  tail  is  bent  back  over  a  stick, 
the  twist  producing  a  permanent  result.  But  this  is 
probably  a  slander. 

There  is  one  family  of  American  trotters,  that  of 
the  Mambrino  Patchens,  which  alone  among  American- 
bred  nags  is  distinguished  for  the  beautiful  carriage 
of  the  tail,  and,  as  I  have  mentioned  in  a  previous 
chapter,  jealous  persons  sometimes  make  the  same 
insinuation  in  reference  to  these  horses  that  was 
directed  against  the  stud  of  the  Emir  of  Hail. 

All  Arabian  horses  carry  their  tails  well,  and,  next 
to  the  head  and  its  setting  on,  the  tail  is  the  feature 
which  the  Arab  looks  to  in  judging  a  horse.  "  I  have 
seen  mares  gallop  with  their  tails  out  straight  as  colts, 
and  lit,  as  the  Arabs  say,  to  hang  your  cloak  on," 
Major  Upton  remarks.  A  family  of  horses  renowned 
in  the  desert  is  descended  from  a  mare  of  whom  the 

1  Nejd,  a  district,  is  the  general ;  Anazeh,  the  particular  term. 


268         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

following  tradition  exists.  Her  owner  was  once  fly- 
ing from  the  enemy,  and,  being  hard  pressed,  he  cast 
off  his  cloak  in  order  to  relieve  the  mare  of  that  un- 
necessary weight.  But  when,  having  distanced  his 
pursuers,  he  halted,  what  was  his  surprise  to  find 
that  his  cloak  had  lodged  on  the  mare's  outstretched 
tail  and  still  hung  there  !  From  this  incident,  the 
heroine  of  the  story  has  figured  ever  since  in  the  un- 
written pedigrees  of  the  desert  as  "the  Arab  of  the 
Cloak." 

Occasionally,  though  not  often,  one  sees  an  Ameri- 
can-bred horse,  especially  if  it  be  a  colt,  galloping  in 
the  pasture  with  its  tail  carried  so  high  that  the  hair 
divides  and  falls  forward  like  a  streamer.  This  is  a 
very  common  sight  in  the  desert.  "I  have  seen  a 
mare,  an  Abayan  Sherakh,"  writes  Major  Upton, 
"  galloping  loose,  with  both  head  and  tail  high  to  an 
extent  such  as  I  could  hardly  have  believed  had  I 
not  seen  it.  Her  tail  was  not  only  high,  but  seemed 
to  be  right  over  her  back,  and,  besides  streaming  out 
behind  like  a  flag,  covered  her  loins  and  quarters.  It 
was  a  splendid  sight  to  one  who  can  appreciate  a 
horse."  A  single  horseman  mounted  on  a  mare  that 
carried  her  tail  in  this  superb  manner,  and  galloping 
in  the  distance,  away  from  the  spectator,  has  often 
been  mistaken  in  the  desert  for  three  horsemen  riding 
abreast. 

What  does  an  Arabian  horse  look  like,  —  a  mare  of 
the  desert,  of  noble  birth,  belonging,  we  will  say.  to 
the  tribe  Gomussa,  of  the  clan  Anazeh,  and  valued 
for  her  high  descent  from  Xejd  to  the  Euphrates, 
from  Damascus  to  Bagdad  ?  Let  us  imagine  her 
coming   forward   at  a  walk.      She   advances   with  a 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  269 

long,  swinging  stride,  the  hind  feet  considerably  over- 
stepping the  print  left  by  the  fore  feet,  —  overstepping 
from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches, — sometimes,  if  care- 
ful observers  may  be  trusted,  even  as  much  as  two  or 
three  feet.  Above  all,  she  swings  her  head  from  side 
to  side,  and  looks  about  with  curiosity,  as  she  goes. 
This  mark  of  alertness  and  vivacity'  is  among  the 
Bedouins  a  sine  qua  non  of  good  breeding.  The  son 
of  a  certain  sheikh  being  about  to  purchase  a  horse, 
asked  advice  of  his  father.  The  old  man  answered 
simply,  "Get  one  whose  ears  are  ever  in  motion, 
turning  now  forward  and  now  backward,  as  if  he 
were  listening  to  something." 

In  truth,  a  well-bred  horse,  the  world  over,  exhibits 
similar  indications  of  a  lively  spirit,  and  of  an  in- 
quiring mind.  There  is  no  pleasure  in  the  use  of  a 
horse  who  fails  to  prick  his  ears,  and  to  keep  them  in 
motion;  and  it  would  be  a  short  but  not  seriously 
inadequate  description  of  a  good  roadster  to  say  that 
you  can  drive  him  fifty  or  sixty  miles  in  a  day  with- 
out taking  the  prick  out  of  his  ears.  The  head  of  our 
Gonmssa  mare  is  the  first  and  chief  part  of  her  to  be 
examined. 

Whyte-Melville  wrote :  — 

"  A  head  like  a  snake,  and  a  skin  like  a  mouse, 

An  eye  like  a  woman's,  bright,  gentle,  and  brown, 
With  loins  and  a  back  that  would  carry  a  house, 
And  quarters  to  lift  him  smack  over  a  town." 

This  comparison  of  the  head  of  a  horse  to  that  of 
the  snake  has  often  been  criticised,  and  yet  I  think 
an  Arab  would  perceive  the  force  of  the  simile.  The 
head  of  an  Arabian  horse  when  he  is  excited,  writes 
one,   "seems  to  be  made  up  of  forehead,  eyes,  and 


270         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

nostrils,"    and  this    suggests   the    raised   head   of   a 
hissing  snake. 

What  gives  the  head  of  the  Arabian  steed  this 
peculiar  appearance  is  chiefly  the  prominence  of  the 
forehead,  —  greater  in  the  mares  than  in  the  horses. 
A  small  head  the  Arabians  particularly  dislike,  as 
indicating  a  small  brain,  but  the  size  should  be  in  the 
upper  regions  of  the  skull.  From  the  top  of  the  head 
to  a  point  between  the  eyes  will  often  measure  as 
much  as  from  the  last  mentioned  point  to  the  upper 
edge  of  the  nostril.  Morever,  the  forehead,  between 
and  below  the  eyes,  should  be  slightly  convex  or  bul- 
ging.1 The  space  around  the  eyes  should  be  free  of 
hair,  so  as  to  show  the  skin  underneath,  which  at 
this  part  is  particularly  black  and  lustrous.  The 
name  for  the  original  breed  of  Arab  horses,  now 
divided  into  five  families,  is  Keheilan,  from  kohl, 
antimony,  the  Arabian  horse  having  by  nature  that 
dark  circle  about  the  eye  which  the  women  of  Arabia 
are  wont  to  obtain  by  the  use  of  antimony.  Some- 
times the  whole  face,  and  even  the  ears,  are  entirely 
free  of  hair.  The  cheek-bone  should  be  deep  and 
lean,  and  the  jaw-bone  clearly  marked.  There  is 
great  width  of  jaw  and  depth  of  jowl.  In  fine,  the 
head  of  the  Arabian  horse  is  large  where  the  brain 
is,  and  large  in  the  breathing  apparatus,  but  small  in 
all  the  unessential  parts.  The  face  narrows  sud- 
denly below  the  cheek-bone,  and  runs  down  almost 
to  a  point.     "  A  nose  that  would  go  in  a  pint  pot " 

1  This  feature,  which,  by  the  way,  distinguishes  the  Touchstone 
family  of  English  thoroughbreds,  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  that 
of  a  convex  or  "  Roman  "  nose.  The  latter  points  to  a  low  descent, 
and  is  associated  with  obstinacy. 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  271 

is  an  old  description  of  the  Arabian  cast  of  counte- 
nance. 

But  the  profile  of  the  Arabian  horse  terminates,  not 
"  with  the  nostril,  as  in  the  English  race  horse,  but 
with  the  tip  of  the  lip."  "  The  nostrils,"  Mr.  Blunt 
states,  "when  in  repose,  should  lie  flat  with  the  face 
appearing  in  it  little  more  than  a  slit,  and  pinched 
and  puckered  up,  as  also  should  the  mouth,  which 
should  have  the  under  lip  longer  than  the  upper, 
'  like  the  camel's,'  the  Bedouins  say." * 

"Fine  his  nose,  his  nostrils  thin, 
But  blown  abroad  by  the  pride  within." 

The  ears,  especially  in  the  mare,  should  be  long 
but  fine  and  delicately  cut,  like  the  ears  of  a  gazelle. 
This  agrees  with  our  Western  notion  on  the  subject, 
for  small  "  mouse-ears,"  as  they  call  them,  are  not 
liked  by  our  horsemen.  As  to  the  carriage  of  the 
ears,  Major  Upton  well  describes  it  as  follows  :  "  The 
ears,  to  be  perfect,  should  be  so  placed  that  they  point 
inwards,  so  that  the  tips  may  almost  touch.  The  out- 
line of  the  inner  side  of  the  ear  should  be  much 
curved,  and,  as  it  were,  notched  about  half-way  down." 

Xext  to  the  head  and  ears,  the  Arabs  value  the 
manner  in  which  the  head  is  set  on  the  neck.  This 
point,  or  rather  form  of  juncture,  they  call  the  mitbeh. 
It  especially  refers  to  the  shape  of  the  windpipe,  and 

1  "  The  nostril,  which  is  peculiarly  long,  not  round,  runs  up- 
ward toward  the  face,  and  is  also  set  up  outward  from  the  nose, 
like  the  mouth  of  a  pouch  or  sack  which  has  been  tied.  This  is 
a  very  beautiful  feature,  and  can  hardly  be  appreciated  except  by 
sight.  When  it  expands,  it  opens  both  upwards  and  outwards,  and 
in  profile  is  seen  to  extend  beyond  the  outline  of  the  nose."- — 
Major  Upton. 


272  ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


j        -"."-"V."-, 


to  the  manner  in  which  the  throat  enters  or  runs  in 
between  the  jaws,  where  it  should  have  a  slight  and 
graceful  curve.  "This/"7  Major  Upton  adds,  "'per- 
mits of  a  graceful  and  easy  carriage  of  the  head,  and 
.  .  .  gives  great  freedom  to  the  air-passages.  The 
Keheilan  is  essentially  a  deep-breathed  and  a  good 
and  long-winded  horse." 

The  peculiar  rounded  prominence  of  the  forehead 
already  described,  the  Arabs  call  the  jibbah;  and  the 
jibbah,  the  mitbeh,  the  ears,  and  the  tail  are  the 
parts  as  to  which  they  are  most  particular.  These 
points  indicate  breeding,  and  breeding  is  all  that  the 
Arabs  care  for  in  a  horse. 

For  the  rest,  the  Arabian  horse,  in  his  highest  form, 
exhibits  great  length.  He  stands  over  much  ground, 
as  the  phrase  is,  although  his  back  is  short.  There  is 
a  common  notion  that  the  Arabian  at  rest  keeps  his 
legs  well  under  him  ;  that  he  belongs  to  that  type  of 
which  it  is  said  "all  .four  feet  would  go  in  a  bushel 
basket";  but  this  is  erroneous.  Often,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  Arabian  stands  with  his  fore  legs  bent 
backward  from  the  knee,  which  is  thought  to  be  a 
good  formation  or  habit.  In  the  length  of  his  body, 
in  the  length  of  his  hind  legs,  which  is  extreme,  and 
in  the  fact  that  he  stands  higher  behind  than  in  front, 
there  is  a  resemblance  between  the  Arabian  horse,  at 
least  the  Anazeh  horse,  and  the  typical  American 
trotter.  Maud  S.,  for  example,  has  these  peculiari- 
ties. Sunol  has  them  in  still  greater  degree.  The 
Anazeh  mares,  moreover,  are  very  long  from  hip  to 
hock,  and  this  again  is  the  almost  invariable  forma- 
tion of  the  trotting  horse.  The  body  of  the  Arabian 
is  elegantly  shaped.     His  ribs  are  more  deeply  arched 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  273 

than  is  usually  the  case  with  our  horses,  and  conse- 
quently he  swells  out  behind  the  shoulders  in  a  grace- 
ful curve,  whereas  both  the  running  horse  and  the 
trotter  are  very  apt  to  be  what  is  called  slab-sided. 

Another  peculiarity  of  the  Arabian  is  the  great 
length  of  his  pastern  joints,  to  which  is  chiefly  due 
the  remarkable  springiness  and  elasticity  of  his  gait. 
"  He  is  so  light  that  he  could  dance  upon  the  bosom 
of  a  woman  without  bruising  it."  And  a  quaint 
writer  thus  describes  a  mare  of  the  desert :  "  All 
shining,  beautiful,  and  gentle  of  herself,  she  seemed 
a  darling  life  upon  that  savage  soil,  not  worthy  of 
her  gracious  pasterns."  Nor,  despite  its  length, 
does  this  joint  ever  break  down  with  the  Arabian 
horse,  as  happens  so  frequently  with  the  English 
racer.  Grogginess  and  knuckling  over  are  unknown 
in  the  desert. 

As  to  the  legs  of  the  Arabian,  they  are  as  hard  as 
flint ;  spavin,  curb,  and  ringbone  are  very  infrequent. 
In  speaking  of  a  certain  Anazeh  mare,  a  bay  with 
black  points,  Major  Upton  declares  that  her  legs  ap- 
peared to  have  been  cut  out  of  black  marble,  and 
then  highly  polished.  The  knees  and  hocks  of  the 
Arabian  are  large,  as  they  are  in  all  good  horses. 
"  A  Bedawee,  whose  mare  had  a  foal  running  by  her 
side,  being  pursued,  feared  that  his  steed  would  not 
do  her  best,  out  of  consideration  for  the  foal ;  there- 
fore he  struck  at  the  foal  with  his  lance,  and  it  fell 
back  disabled.  But  when  the  Arab  stopped  his  mare, 
the  foal  shortly  made  its  appearance  ;  and  although 
it  had  been  wounded  in  the  hocks,  it  had  made  such 
good  play  that  it  was  called  the  father  or  possessor 
of  good  hocks.     It  is  a  strain  most  highly  esteemed." 

18 


274         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

Another  family  is  descended  from  "  the  Mare  of 
the  Old  Woman,"  whose  story  is  as  follows.  A 
Bedawee  had  been  pursued  for  some  days  through  a 
long  and  devious  course.  On  the  way  his  mare  gave 
birth  to  a  foal,  but  her  master  soon  mounted  again 
and  continued  his  flight,  leaving  the  little  creature  to 
its  fate.  However,  when  he  stopped  at  night  to  rest, 
the  infant  appeared,  having  followed  all  the  way,  not- 
withstanding its  extreme  youth,  and  thereupon  he 
gave  it  to  an  old  woman,  who  brought  it  up  by  hand  ; 
and  this  foal,  "  the  Mare  of  the  Old  Woman,"  became 
the  mother  of  a  noted  family.1 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  the  Arabs  treat  their 
horses,  it  is  pleasant  to  be  assured  that  neither  ro- 
mance nor  tradition  has  exaggerated  its  kindness  and 
familiarity.  "  Their  great  merit  as  horse-breakers  is 
unwearied  patience.  Loss  of  temper  with  a  beast  is 
not  in  their  nature,  and  I  have  never  seen  them  strike 
or  ill  use  their  mares  in  any  way."  If  Providence 
provided  Central  Arabia  as  a  region  peculiarly  fit  for 
breeding  sound  horses,  it  would  seem  also  that  the 
ancient  Arabian  race  was  specially  designed  to  have 
the  nurture  and  training  of  these  high-bred  animals. 
The  Arabs  have  a  saying  which  is  indicative  of  their 
character .  "  A  noble  may  labor  with  his  own  hands, 
without  disgrace,  in  three  cases,  — for  his  horse,  for 
his  father,  and  for  his  guest." 

It  is  clear  that  rough  treatment  would  soon  convert 
Arabian  horses  into  demons.  Mr.  William  Dav,  the 
well  known  English  trainer,  conjectures  that  the  ill 

1  The  endurance  of  young  foals  is  surprising.  I  know  of  a  case 
in  which  a  foal  only  ten  days  old  travelled  by  the  side  of  its  dam. 
a  Morgan,  over  fifty  miles  in  about  twelve  hours,  without  injury. 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  275 

temper  and  ferocity  which  characterize  some  strains 
of  the  English  thoroughbred  come  from  the  Arab 
blood  in  their  ancestry.  Hence  he  infers  that  Ara- 
bian horses  are  bad-tempered.  His  conjecture  is  very 
likely  correct,  but  his  inference  is  a  vicious  one.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  a  generation  or  two  of  the  old- 
fashioned  English  groom,  with  his  rough  "  Come  up, 
horse ! "  and  dig  in  the  ribs  or  kick  in  the  belly, 
added  to  the  use  of  whips  and  spurs  and  severe  bits, 
would  sour  the  temper  and  awake  the  resentment  of 
so  highly  bred  and  finely  organized  an  animal  as  one 
of  Arabian  descent.  But  in  the  desert  viciousness  in 
the  horse  is  absolutely  unknown.  The  Arab  rides, 
without  saddle  or  stirrups,  on  a  small  pad  fastened  in 
place  by  a  surcingle.  As  for  bridle  and  bit,  he  has 
none.  The  horse  is  guided  by  a  halter,  the  rope  of 
which  the  rider  holds  in  his  hand,  and  he  is  con- 
trolled by  the  voice.  "  I  have  never  seen  either  vio- 
lent plunging,  rearing,  or  indeed  any  serious  attempt 
made  to  throw  the  rider.  Whether  a  Bedouin  would 
be  able  to  sit  a  bare-backed,  unbroken  four-year-old 
colt  as  the  Gauchos  of  South  America  do  is  exceed- 
ingly doubtful." 

The  Arabian  mare  has  no  more  fear  of  her  master 
than  a  dog  would  have  with  us,  and  she  is  on  terms 
of  almost  canine  intimacy  with  the  whole  family. 
An  old  traveller  in  the  desert  describes  an  incident 
on  a  wet  evening  at  the  sheikh's  tent :  "  Evening 
clouds  gathered.  .  .  .  The  mare  returned  of  herself 
through  the  falling  weather,  and  came  and  stood  at 
our  coffee  fire,  in  half-human  wise,  to  dry  her  soaked 
skin  and  warm  herself  as  one  among  us.  She  ap- 
proached the  sitters  about   the    hearth,  and,  putting 


276         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

clown  her  soft  nose,  kissed  each  member  of  the  group, 
till  the  sheikh  was  fain  to  rise  and  scold  his  mare 
away." 

"  Air's  tent,"  writes  Mr.  Blunt,  "  was  partly  occu- 
pied by  a  filly  and  a  bay  foal,  the  latter  not  a  week 
old,  and  very  engaging.  It  was  tied  up,  as  the  cus- 
tom is,  by  a  rope  round  the  neck,  while  its  mother 
was  away  grazing,  and  neighed  continually.  It  was 
very  tame,  however,  and  let  me  stroke  it,  and  sniffed 
at  my  pockets,  as  if  it  knew  that  there  might  be 
some  sugar  there." 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  Arabian  foals  are  de- 
scribed as  being  gentle  and  familiar.  They  do  not 
run  away  when  they  are  approached  at  pasture  ;  they 
are  not  to  be  intimidated  by  the  flourishing  of  sticks 
or  by  the  waving  of  garments.  If  they  happen  to  be 
lying  down  when  one  comes  near  them,  they  continue 
iu  that  position,  instead  of  scrambling  to  their  feet  in 
alarm ;  and  they  have  an  engaging  habit  of  using 
their  masters  as  rubbing-posts.  All  this  is  true,  in 
general,  of  our  trotting-bred  American  foals.  The 
fact  is  that  any  colt,  whatever  its  origin,  if  treated 
with  uniform  kindness,  will  become  by  the  age  of  six 
or  eight  months  as  tame  and  fearless  as  the  pets  of 
the  desert. 

The  manner  of  rearing  the  Arabian  colt  is  as  fol- 
lows. It  is  weaned  at  the  tender  age  of  one  month, 
instead  of  being  allowed  to  run  with  its  mother  for 
four,  five,  or  six  months,  according  to  our  custom, 
but  it  is  then  fed  on  camel's  milk,  which  is  very  nu- 
tritious. So  soon  as  it  is  weaned,  the  dam  goes  out  to 
pasture,  and  the  foal  remains  close  by  the  tent,  being 
tied  by  a  cord  around  the  neck,  or  around  the  hind 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  277 

leg  above  the  hock.  The  children  play  with  it,  and 
when  it  is  a  year  old  they  mount  it  occasionally,  and 
thus  it  gradually  becomes  accustomed  to  carrying 
weight.  Before  it  attains  two  years  of  age  it  has 
been  ridden  by  a  half-grown  boy,  and  a  year  later  it 
is  put  through  some  long  and  severe  gallops.  The 
Bedouins  maintain  —  very  unreasonably,  as  Western 
experience  shows  —  that,  unless  a  horse  has  done  hard 
work  before  he  is  three  years  old,  he  will  never  be  fit 
to  do  it  afterward.  It  may  be,  indeed,  that  Arabian 
and  "  thoroughbred "  horses  can  do  hard  work  in 
their  colthood  with  impunity  ;  but  of  half-bred,  still 
more  of  cold-blooded  horses,  Shakspere's  adage  still 
holds  true : 

"  The  colt  that 's  backed  and  burdened  being  young 
Loseth  his  pride,  and  never  waxeth  strong." 

When  the  Arabian  colt  is  about  two  and  a  half 
years  old,  besides  being  taught  to  gallop  in  the  figure 
of  an  8,  and  to  change  his  leg,  so  as  to  become  supple, 
he  is  ridden  by  his  master  on  a  journey.  The  conse- 
quence of  this  heroic  treatment  is,  that  splints  are  not 
uncommon  in  Arabian  horses,  and  sometimes  their 
shank  bones  become  bent  permanently.  Occasionally, 
also,  the  colt  gets  a  pair  of  broken  knees  by  being 
ridden  over  rough  ground  at  too  early  an  age.  But, 
strange  to  say,  the  Arabians  make  no  account  of  such 
a  blemish.  Their  horses,  when  full  grown,  never  fall, 
despite  their  careless  way  of  walking.  "  The  Arabian 
horse  is  too  sure  of  his  footing  to  be  careful,  except 
on  rough  ground,  and  there  he  never  makes  a  false 
step." 

I  own  a  Morgan  mare  which  has  precisely  the 
same    peculiarity.     On   ordinary  roads   she   will  not 


278         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

take  the  pains  to  avoid  an  obstacle  such  as  a  stone, 
and  will  frequently  trip  over  it,  knowing  full  well 
that  she  can  alwavs  save  herself  with  the  other  leg. 
But  I  have  driven  this  same  mare  down  a  mountain 
side,  where  the  only  road  was  the  dry  bed  of  a  rocky 
stream,  and  there  she  picked  her  way  in  perfect 
safety,  without  taking  a  false  step. 

The  smallness  of  the  Arabian  horse  is  due  partly, 
at  least,  to  scantiness  of  food.  "  Horses,  mares,  and 
colts,  all  alike,  are  starved  during  a  great  part  of  the 
year,  no  corn  being  ever  given,  and  only  camel's  milk 
when  other  food  fails.  They  are  often  without  water 
for  several  days  together,  and  in  the  most  piercing 
nights  of  winter  they  stand  uncovered,  and  with  no 
more  shelter  than  can  be  got  on  the  lee  side  of  the 
tents.  Their  coats  become  long  and  shaggy,  and  they 
are  left  uncombed  and  unbrushed  till  the  new  coat 
comes  in  spring.  At  these  times  the}*  are  ragged- 
looking  scare-crows,  half  starved,  and  as  rough  as 
ponies.  In  the  summer,  however,  their  coats  are  as 
fine  as  satin,  and  they  show  all  the  appearance  of 
breeding  one  has  a  right  to  expect  of  their  blood." 

The  cow-pony  of  our  Western  and  Southwestern 
States  is  akin  to  the  Arabian,  being  descended  from 
the  Barbs  (in  part  Arabian)  that  the  Spaniards 
brought  over  when  they  conquered  South  America; 
and  the  cow-pony  and  the  Arabian  horse  fare  very 
much  the  same  in  winter,  and  undergo  a  similar 
change  in  spring.  "  The  cow-pony,"  writes  Colonel 
T.  A.  Dodge  in  a  private  letter,  "  in  many  places,  in 
the  winter,  looks  like  a  bear.  His  hide  becomes  fur, 
and  his  legs  are  as  big  as  barrels.  But  when  he 
scours  out  in  the  spring,  he  is  as  fine  as  any  thorough- 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  279 

bred.  He  conies  of  the  same  stock  which  produced 
the  English  thoroughbred,  and  he  has  had  the  very 
best  of  training  in  running  away  from  wolves  and  in 
hunting  his  fodder.  In  other  words,  with  him  the 
species  is  a  survival  of  the  fittest.  .  .  .  Barring  his 
attenuated  form,  which  comes  from  his  annual  starv- 
ing, he  is  one  of  the  most  astonishing  creatures  ever 
made." 

The  last  touch  of  romance  is  added  to  the  Bedouin 
when  we  learn  that  he  is  not  in  any  sense  a  horse- 
dealer.  The  town  Arab  is  often  a  dealer  in  horses, 
bat  the  Arab  of  the  desert  treasures  the  glorious 
animal  for  his  own  sake,  and  not  as  a  merchantable 
commodity.  If  he  has  a  mare  to  sell,  there  she  is,  — 
you  may  take  her  or  leave  her ;  but  the  owner  will 
make  no  attempt  to  exaggerate  her  virtues  or  to 
apologize  for  her  defects.  "  He  knows  little  of 
showing  off  a  horse,  or  even  of  making  him  stand  to 
advantage ;  but,  however  anxious  he  may  be  to  sell 
him,  brings  him  just  as  he  is,  dirty  and  ragged,  tired, 
and  perhaps  broken-kneed.  He  has  a  supreme  con- 
tempt himself  for  everything  except  blood  in  his 
beast,  and  he  expects  everybody  else  to  have  the 
same."  The  Arabian  horse  is  frequently  blemished 
by  lance  wounds  and  other  injuries,  and  especially 
from  firing  with  the  hot  iron.  This  is  the  sovereign 
remedy  among  the  Arabs  for  man  and  horse,  and 
upon  both  animals  it  is  practised  to  a  cruel  and 
ridiculous  degree.  Mr.  Palgrave  mentions  one  case 
where  a  deep  circular  wound  had  been  burned  upon 
the  skull  of  an  insane  man,  the  injury  being  suffi- 
ciently great  to  cause  the  madness  which  it  was 
intended  to  cure. 


280         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

Often,  indeed,  it  requires  the  eye  of  a  skilled  horse- 
man to  detect  the  merit  and  high  breeding  of  a  mare 
fresh  from  the  desert,  in  her  winter  coat  and  winter 
condition.  An  old  traveller  relates  how  such  a  mare, 
sent  by  a  ^"edji  prince  to  an  Egyptian  Pasha,  was 
criticised  by  those  who  saw  her  :  "  Merry  were  these 
men  of  settled  countries,  used  to  stout  hackneys. 
'  The  carrion ! '  cried  one,  for  indeed  she  was  lean 
and  uncurried.  'The  Pasha  would  not  accept  her/ 
said  another.  But  a  Syrian  who  stood  by  quietly 
remarked,  •  A  month  at  Shem,  and  she  will  se'em 
better  than  now.'  And  some  Bedouins  who  were 
present  declared  her  worth  to  be  thirty  camels." 

It  is  true,  as  this  traveller  sagely  declared,  that 
men  of  "  settled  countries,  used  to  stout  hackneys," 
often  prefer  an  inferior  horse  to  the  pure-bred  Ara- 
bian. The  Barb,  for  example,  has  a  bigger  crest  and 
is  more  on  the  prancing  order. 

I  have  touched  already  upon  the  views  of  the 
Arabo-maniacs.  With  them  the  problem  of  horse- 
breeding  is  a  very  simple  one,  the  solution  being  to 
discard  all  other  breeds  as  mongrels,  and  to  go  back 
to  ''the  primitive  horse."  the  horse  of  the  desert. 
On  the  other  hand,  most  practical  men  engaged  in 
the  business  deride  this  notion.  "I  cannot  help 
thinking,"  writes  one  such,  "  that  of  all  insane  ideas 
the  maddest  is  that  which  some  enthusiasts  have  of 
permanently  improving  English  race  horses  by  an 
admixture  of  Arab  blood,  as  if  the  difference  between 
the  various  breeds  of  horses  were  not  the  result  of 
climate,  selection,  stable  management,  work,  and 
training."  It  is,  I  believe,  a  fact  —  so  malleable 
is    horseflesh  —  that    a   thoroughbred    foal,    born   in 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  281 

India,  of  parents  imported  from  England,  bears  un- 
mistakable evidence  of  his  birthplace ;  and  in  the 
second  or  third  generation  the  colonized  thorough- 
bred loses  all  resemblance  to  the  native  English 
stock. 

No  doubt,  as  the  writer  just  quoted  maintains,  the 
race  horse  of  to-day  cannot  be  improved  by  an  infusion 
of  Arab  blood.  He  is  bigger,  faster,  than  the  Arab, 
and  could  beat  him  over  any  distance  short  of  one 
hundred  miles  j  perhaps  indeed  over  any  distance 
whatever.  It  is  probably  the  same  in  regard  to 
trotting  horses ;  and  yet,  as  I  have  mentioned,  the 
Arabian  formation,  especially  as  it  is  found  in  the 
Anazeh  family,  closely  resembles  that  of  a  typical 
trotter.  Moreover,  the  Arabian  trotting  gait  seems 
to  be  much  the  same  as  that  of  our  horses.  Thus 
Major  Upton  writes  :  "  When  trotting,  the  hind  legs 
of  the  Arabian  appear  to  be,  and  often  may  be,  too 
long,  and  there  is  too  much  reach  for  a  pleasant  trot- 
ting pace  [not  for  speed]  ;  yet  with  good  riding  some 
will  trot  grandly.'*'  This  is  precisely  what  might  be 
said  of  an  American  trotter  if  used  as  a  saddle  horse. 
However,  the  Arabian  horses  are  deficient  in  trotting 
action  forward ;  and  on  the  whole  it  is  very  doubtful 
if  any  gain  in  trotting  speed  could  be  made  at  this 
late  day  by  an  Arabian  cross. 

But  if  the  object  were,  not  to  obtain  a  race  horse, 
either  at  the  running  or  trotting  gait,  but  to  produce 
a  family  of  fine  saddle  or  driving  horses,  especially 
the  former,  for  general  use,  then  indeed  it  might  be 
well  to  breed  from  Arabian  stock.  Success  would  be 
certain.  The  only  question  would  be  whether  you 
could  reach  your  end  the  more  quickly  by  this  means, 


282  ROAD,    TRACK,   AND    STABLE. 

or  by  breeding  from  the  best  of  our  own  horses ;  and 
this  is  a  problem  which  nothing  short  of  experiment 
can  solve.  It  must  be  remembered  that  no  serious 
attempt  on  a  large  scale  has  ever  been  made  in  this 
country  to  raise  horses  with  a  view  to  beauty,  intelli- 
gence, courage,  and  soundness ;  and  these  are  the 
respects  in  which  the  Arabians  excel. 

Moreover,  the  perfectly  natural  way  in  which  they 
take  to  jumping,  an  exercise  of  which  they  have  not 
the  slightest  experience  in  the  desert,  shows  that  the 
Arabian  horses  are  entirely  harmonious  in  all  their 
parts,  and  therefore  adaptable  to  any  use  that  might 
be  required  of  them.  Lady  Anne  Blunt  relates: 
"  The  mare  I  rode  on  the  journey  carried  me  over 
the  raised  watercourses  by  the  Euphrates  in  the 
cleverest  way  in  the  world  \  off  and  on,  without  the 
least  hanging  or  hesitation,  and  always  with  a  foot 
ready  to  bring  down  in  case  of  need."  One  of  the 
mares  brought  home  by  Mr.  Blunt  was  let  loose  in 
his  park  on  the  night  of  her  arrival,  and  forthwith 
she  jumped  the  fence,  five  feet  and  six  inches  high. 
The  lower  rails  were  then  pulled  down,  and  she  was 
walked  back  under  the  top  one,  a  thick,  oaken  bar, 
several  inches  higher  than  her  withers. 

Few  Arabian  horses  have  been  imported  to  this 
country,  especially  of  late  years  ;  but  it  is  a  striking 
fact  that,  when  one  hears  of  some  extraordinary  feat 
performed  by  an  American  horse,  it  is  not  infrequent- 
ly added  that  his  dam  or  grandam,  or  some  more  re- 
mote ancestor,  was  "  said  to  be  Arabian."  I  saw  not 
long  ago,  for  instance,  in  a  Maine  pasture,  a  little 
roan  mare,  not  otherwise  remarkable  in  appearance, 
but  of  a  distinctly  Arabian  cast  of  countenance.     She 


ARABIAN    HOUSES.  283 

had  a  nose  that  would  "  go  in  a  pint  pot,"  a  neat  head, 
tine  ears,  and  a  large,  intelligent,  though  wicked  eye. 
This  little  mare  is  reputed  to  be  a  remarkable  road- 
ster, and  a  former  owner  declares  that  he  once  drove 
her  from  Gardiner  to  Phillips,  Maine,  in  five  hours 
and  a  half.  The  distance  is  fifty-five  miles.  The  dam 
of  her  grandsire  was  a  half-bred  Arab,  and  the  foal  at 
her  side  when  I  saw  them  showed  even  more  distinctly 
than  its  mother  the  Arab  strain  in  its  ancestry. 

The  dam  of  the  famous  Flora  Temple  was  by  a 
"spotted  Arabian  horse."  Leopard  Rose,  a  spotted 
mare  that  made  a  sensation  on  the  track  in  1889  and 
1890,  winning  many  races,  and  getting  a  record  of 
2.15^,  was  by  Killbuck  Tom,  and  he  by  a  circus 
horse  said  to  be  of  Arab  descent.  Numerous  like 
instances  might  be  cited.  Of  course,  no  pure  Arabian 
was  ever  "spotted,"  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
some  at  least  of  the  animals  thus  described  had 
Arabian  blood  in  their  veins.  Still,  the  point  is 
doubtful. 

One  of  the  best  roadsters  in  ?.Iaine  of  recent  years 
was  a  mare  descended  from  "  Royal  Tar,"  a  mysterious 
white  stallion  who  is  said  to  have  swum  ashore  from 
a  vessel  wrecked  near  Eggemoggin  Reach,  and  who 
not  improbably  was  of  Eastern  birth. 

The  grandam  of  this  roadster  is  described  as  an 
"ordinary"  black  mare,  and  her  sire  was  Tom  Knox, 
a  black  horse :  but  she,  like  her  dam,  inherited  the 
white  color  of  her  grandsire,  Royal  Tar.  She  was 
once  driven  eighty-seven  miles  in  a  day  of  fourteen 
hours,  hauling  two  people  in  a  top  buggy,  doing  the 
last  thirty-six  miles  in  four  hours,  and  winding  up 
with  a  race  of  some  miles  down  the  road  from  Bucks- 


284         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

port  to  Bangor,  which  she  won.  This  mare  weighed 
about  nine  hundred  pounds  ;  her  back  was  very  short ; 
her  eyes  were  "large  and  expressive";  she  was  low- 
headed,  and  a  hard  puller.  I  ought  not,  however,  to 
speak  of  her  in  the  past  tense,  for  my  informant  adds 
"She  is  now  nineteen  years  old,  and  hasn't  seen  a 
windpuff." 

An  old  gentleman  who  has  owned  many  valuable 
horses  told  me  lately  that  the  best  and  most  intelli- 
gent of  them  all  was  a  medium-sized  gelding,  with  a 
dash  of  Arab  blood.  One  very  hot  day  he  drove  this 
horse  sixty  miles  in  a  heavy  buggy,  putting  up  toward 
night  at  the  house  of  a  friend.  After  the  nag  had 
thoroughly  cooled  off,  the  negro  groom  in  charge 
mounted  and  took  him  out  for  a  bath  in  a  neighboring 
river.  The  horse  enjoyed  it  so  much  that  he  swam 
hither  and  thither  for  a  considerable  distance  with 
the  darkey  on  his  back,  and,  finally  coming  ashore, 
he  finished  the  da\^'s  work  by  taking  the  bit  in  his 
teeth  and  running  away  on  the  high  road  for  three  or 
four  miles  out  of  pure  lightness  of  heel  and  heart. 
"  Massa,"  said  the  negro,  when  he  led  this  extraordi- 
nary animal  to  the  door  on  the  following  morning, 
not  daring  to  get  in  the  vehicle  and  drive,  u  Massa, 
this  hoss  am  de  debil ! " 

One  experiment  now  making  in  this  country  with 
regard  to  Arabian  horses  deserves  mention.  Mr. 
Eandoph  Huntington  is  a  veteran  horseman,  whose 
devotion  to  the  Henry  Clay  family  of  trotters  (de- 
scended from  the  Barb,  Grand  Bashaw)  and  to  the 
Arabian  horse  may  be  described  without  exaggeration 
as  heroic.  I  have  quoted  in  a  previous  chapter  his 
description  of  old  Henry  Clay.     For  many  years  the 


ARABIAN    HORSES.  li85 

Clays  were  the  victims  of  prejudice,  tlie  result  partly 
of  ignorance,  partly  of  designed  misrepresentation  ; 
and  Mr.  Huntington,  like  the  horses  that  he  loved, 
was  a  perpetual  target  for  ridicule  and  abuse.  Of 
late,  however,  the  value  of  this  strain  has  asserted 
itself  so  clearly  that  it  cannot  be  denied  by  the  most 
envious  person.  Mr.  Huntington  owns  the  Anazeh 
mare  Naomi,  and  he  has  established  a  stock  company, 
with  headquarters  on  Long  Island,  for  the  purpose  of 
breeding  a  family  of  Clay-Arabian  horses.  What 
may  be  the  capacity  of  these  Clay -Arabians,  as  they 
are  called,  I  do  not  know,  but  some  of  them  are  ani- 
mals of  extreme  beauty  and  finish,  as  symmetrical  as 
their  Oriental  ancestors,  and  much  larger. 

As  an  Arabo-maniac,  Mr.  Huntington  has  stood 
almost  alone  in  this  country.  He  had  one  predeces- 
sor, a  Kentucky  gentleman,  a  breeder  of  running 
horses,  who  staked  his  fortune  and  his  hopes  upon 
the  success  of  his  Arabian  stud.  Twice  this  man 
visited  the  desert  to  buy  horses,  having  become  con- 
vinced that  on  his  first  attempt  he  obtained  none  of 
the  pure  breed.  The  enterprise  was  a  failure,  and  he 
died  bankrupt  and  broken-hearted. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  far  the  Arabo- 
maniacs  have  been  influenced,  unwittingly  of  course, 
by  the  halo  of  romance  which  surrounds  the  courser 
of  the  desert.  At  all  events,  it  is  a  generous  enthusi- 
asm which  this  far-away  steed  kindles  in  the  breasts 
of  his  few  and  scattered  devotees  among  English- 
speaking  people.  The  passion  for  horseflesh  is,  I 
hold,  a  sort  of  divine  madness ;  and  Arabo-mania  is 
one  form  of  it.     Let  us  deal  with  it  gently. 


XI. 


THE   CARE   OF   HORSES. 


SO  many  treatises  have  been  written  concerning 
the  horse  and  his  stable  that  I  should  do  bet- 
ter, some  critics  might  think,  to  let  the  matter  alone. 
But  my  excuse  is  this :  I  do  not  mean  to  write  a 
treatise,  but  only  a  chapter;  and,  unless  my  knowl- 
edge of  horse  books  is  at  fault,  the  modest  task  of 
putting  the  essentials  of  the  subject  in  so  brief  a 
form  has  never  yet  been  attempted.  The  present 
essay  will  contain  no  long  Latin  words,  no  medical 
terms,  no  vague  prescriptions ;  it  will  merely  treat  of 
those  commonplace  things  which  more  learned  au- 
thors are  apt  to  omit.  Nor  do  I  pretend  to  write  for 
the  typical  horseman,  who  would  scorn  to  obtain  in- 
formation from  the  printed  page.  He  knows  already 
all  that  man  can  know.     I  have  not  forgotten  the 


THE   CARE    OF    HORSES.  287 

auger  and  contempt  with  which  a  certain  blacksmith, 
a  good  mechanic,  moreover,  once  told  me  of  a  present 
that  he  had  just  received  from  a  grateful  customer. 
It  was  a  work  on  the  diseases  of  the  hoof,  written  by 
a  Vet  of  five  times  his  experience  and  ten  times  his 
information.  "  To  think,"  he  exclaimed,  in  the  tone 
of  one  whose  pride  had  received  a  wanton  insult,  — 
"to  think  that  any  book  could  teach  me  anything 
about  the  foot  of  a  hoss  !  " 

Now  I  fear  that  we  horsemen  are  all  more  or  less 
like  this  blacksmith ;  and  accordingly  I  address  my- 
self, not  to  the  craft,  but  to  the  ordinary  horse  owner, 
who  has  acquired  no  special  knowledge  of  the  animal, 
and  who  does  not  enjoy  the  services  of  a  stud-groom. 
Nevertheless,  I  make  bold  to  say  that  among  the  fol- 
lowing pages  will  be  found  a  few  original  remarks, 
worthy  the  attention  even  of  a  horseman.  It  would 
be  odd  indeed  had  I  failed  to  pick  up  an  idea  or  two 
concerning  matters  that  lie  so  near  my  heart.  And 
here  I  might  repeat  what  was  said  to  me  last  sum- 
mer by  a  middle-aged  farmer,  a  rough,  grizzle-headed 
"Down-easter."  We  stood  in  his  barnyard  on  a 
pleasant  Sunday  afternoon,  while  a  weanling  filly 
—  whose  high  merits  had  just  been  pointed  out  — 
contentedly  chewed  an  enormous  and  horny  thumb 
extended  by  her  master  for  that  purpose.  Suddenly 
the  farmer  turned  to  me,  —  being  careful,  however, 
not  to  disengage  his  thumb,  —  and  remarked,  with 
an  obvious  and  unusual  effort  at  introspection,  "I 
like  a  good  horse  awful  well!"  So  do  I,  —  so,  I 
am  persuaded,  does  the  reader,  —  and  accordingly, 
with  his  permission,  we  will  put  on  our  hats,  and 
saunter  out  to 


2bS  ROAD,   TRACK,   AND    STABLE. 

The  Stable. 

The  first  thing  to  notice  is  that  the  occupants  poke 
their  heads  out  as  we  approach.  This  means  that 
they  are  kept  in  box  stalls,  and  are  accustomed  to 
be  petted  and  to  be  fed  with  apples,  carrots,  and  other 
equine  dainties.  I  am  a  believer  in  box  stalls.  A 
horse  loose  in  his  box  —  and  he  should  not  be  tied 
unless  for  some  special  reason  —  gets  an  appreciable 
amount  of  exercise  in  walking  about  his  quarters. 
The  difference  in  this  respect  is  so  great  that  often 
a  horse,  whose  legs  stock  in  a  straight  stall,  will  re- 
main perfectly  smooth  if  he  be  given  the  run  of  a 
loose  box.  So  also,  the  animal  in  a  box  stall,  having 
more  freedom  of  movement,  is  much  less  likely  to 
take  to  kicking,  cribbing,  or  weaving,  —  all  these 
vices  being  induced  by  ennui  and  restlessness.  But 
the  chief  advantage  of  a  box  stall  is  that  it  gives  the 
horse  more  opportunity  to  lie  down,  to  stretch  him- 
self, and  to  roll.  He  likes  to  lie,  as  a  dog  does, 
with  his  head  flat  on  the  ground,  and  with  all  four 
legs  stretched  out  at  length,  and  this  attitude  is 
impossible  in  a  straight  stall  unless  it  be  extraordi- 
narily wide.  Every  stable  should  contain  at  least 
one  box  stall,  to  be  occupied  by  the  horses  in  turn, 
or  in  case  of  illness. 

The  more  a  horse  lies  down,  the  longer  will  his  legs 
and  feet  last.  Therefore,  in  a  straight  as  well  as  in 
a  box  stall  there  should  always  be  bedding  under  the 
horse,  and,  if  tied  at  all,  he  should  be  so  tied  that 
he  can  lie  down  at  ease.  It  is  a  common,  almost  an 
invariable,  fault  of  grooms  to  tie  up  their  horses  too 
short,  lest  they  should  get  cast.    But  with  nine  horses 


THE    CARE   OF    HORSES.  289 

out  of  ten  —  forty-nine  out  of  fifty,  I  think  I  might 
say  —  this  precaution  is  unnecessary.  In  straight 
stalls  I  tie  my  horses  so  that  they  can  rest  their 
heads  flat  on  the  floor,  and  I  have  never  had  one 
injured  by  so  doing.  In  many  stables,  if  an  animal 
is  seen  to  lie  down  in  the  daytime,  it  is  at  once  con- 
cluded that  he  must  be  ill.  But  give  a  horse  bedding 
and  sufficient  halter  rope,  and  it  will  soon  become 
habitual  with  him  to  lie  down  for  a  part  of  the  day 
as  well  as  of  the  night.  I  have  noticed  especially 
that  horses  like  to  recline  in  the  morning,  after  they 
have  finished  eating,  comfortably  snoozing  while  they 
digest  their  breakfast.  Horses  that  are  out  of  the 
stable  all  day,  such  as  cart  and  hack  horses,  should 
always  have  their  hay  at  night  on  the  floor  of  the 
stall,  in  order  that  the}?-  may  eat  and  lie  down  at  the 
same  time.  This  plan,  as  we  have  seen,  is  usually 
pursued  with  fire  horses,  and  its  advantages  are  plain. 
The  disadvantage  of  the  method  is  that  it  would,  in 
some  cases,  entail  a  waste  of  fodder,  but  the  waste 
would  be  slight. 

I  do  not  quite  share  the  modern  prejudice  against 
the  old-fashioned  hay-rack.  It  is  dangerous,  the  au- 
thorities say,  because  hay-seeds  are  likely  to  fall  from 
it  into  the  animal's  eyes.  This  may  be  so,  but  I 
never  heard  or  read  of  any  such  actual  case.  The 
disadvantage  of  a  hay-rack  placed  on  the  floor  is 
that  the  horse  can  eat  from  it  easily  and  quickly : 
whereas  with  the  high  hay-rack,  protected  by  numer- 
ous bars,  he  has  some  little  difficulty  in  pulling  out 
his  fodder,  and  hence  will  be  longer  in  consuming  it, 
thus  facilitating  digestion,  and  giving  him  something 
to  do.     The  best  arrangement,  it  seems  to  me,  would 

19 


290         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

be  a  rack  placed  at  a  medium  height,  and  well  de- 
fended by  bars  or  slats. 

By  this  time,  however,  I  assume  that  the  reader 
and  myself  have  put  our  heads  over  the  first  door, 
and  are  looking  inside  the  stalls.  There  are  five 
in  this  row,  and  the  solid  partitions  between  them 
run  up  to  a  height  of  less  than  a  foot  beyond  the 
withers  of  an  ordinary  sized  horse.  At  that  point 
the  partition  is  continued  by  three  horizontal  rails,  to 
prevent  neighbors  from  biting  each  other.  An  iron 
network  would  be  better,  perhaps,  but  1  used  a  dis- 
carded lightning  rod  which  happened  to  be  on  hand. 
Thus,  a  clear  space  over  all  the  stalls  is  obtained  for 
light  and  air,  and  more  especially  for  social  purposes. 
A  horse  should  always  be  able  to  see  his  neighbor; 
and  if  there  is  but  one  loose  box  in  a  stable,  it  should 
be  contiguous  to  the  straight  stalls.  A  horse  shut  up 
in  a  box  stall,  made,  as  it  sometimes  is,  with  a  solid 
door  and  but  one  small  window,  is  forlorn  and  un- 
happy. In  some  stables  the  partitions  between  the 
loose  boxes  are  composed  entirely  of  iron  network,  — 
a  good  arrangement  unless  it  should  render  the  stalls 
draughty. 

The  reader  will  observe  that  my  loose  boxes  face 
the  south,  that  there  is  a  window  in  each,  and  that 
the  door  is  cut  in  two,  having  an  upper  and  a  lower 
part.  Thus,  the  temperature  can  be  regulated  in  a 
considerable  degree.  Good  dimensions  for  a  loose  box 
to  contain  a  horse  of  medium  size  are  twelve  feet  by 
twelve,  but  a  box  ten  feet  by  ten,  or  perhaps  even 
smaller,  would  be  better  than  a  straight  stall.  Mr. 
G-.  Tattersall  states  the  proper  size  of  a  hunter's  box 
as  twenty-two  feet  long  and  thirteen  feet  wide.     In 


THE   CARE    OF    HORSES.  291 

a  recent  work  will  be  found  a  plan  for  making  loose 
boxes  convertible  at  will  to  straight  stalls.1 

If  the  latter  are  used,  they  should  be  as  wide 
as  possible ;  and  they  should  be  long,  not  less  than 
twelve  feet.  Short  stalls  have  three  disadvantages : 
they  allow  two  contiguous  horses  to  kick  each  other, 
—  a  possible  but  infrequent  evil;  they  fail  to  protect 
the  hind  legs  from  draughts ;  and,  worst  of  all,  they 
enable  the  occupant  to  stand  with  the  toes  of  his 
hind  feet  in  the  gutter,  which  usually  runs  behind  the 
stalls.  This  is  a  bad  position,  being  certain,  if  long 
continued,  to  result  in  a  straining  of  the  cords  and 
muscles  of  the  pastern.  It  is  said  in  all  horse  books 
that  the  stall  should  slope  backward  but  a  trifle,  only 
just  enough  for  purposes  of  drainage  ;  but  1  go  fur- 
ther, and  declare  that  it  ought  not  to  slope  at  all.  I 
believe  that  the  natural  position  of  a  horse  is  with  his 
fore  legs  actually  lower  than  his  hind  legs,  and  cer- 
tainly he  should  never  be  put  in  a  stall  where  his 
fore  legs  must  stand  in  the  least  degree  higher  than 
his  hind  legs. 

Perfect  cleanliness  can  be  obtained  by  having  the 
stall  floored  with  slate,  sloping  as  much  as  may  be 
desired.  On  the  top  of  this  is  laid  a  removable  floor 
of  wooden  or  metal  slats,  so  supported  that  it  is  ex- 
actly level.  On  this  the  horse  stands,  and,  as  it  is 
easily  taken  up,  the  slate  floor  can  be  flushed  with 
water  every  morning.  It  may  be  doubted  if  a  stable 
should  ever  have  a  pipe  or  gutter  connecting  with  a 
sewer,  the  danger  of  its  becoming  clogged  is  so  great. 

1  "  Stable  Building  and  Stable  Fitting,"  by  Giraud.  London  : 
B.  T.  Batsford,  1891. 


292         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

The  bedding,  acting  as  an  absorbent,  should  always 
be  the  main  reliance  for  drainage. 

The  necessity  of  sunlight  in  a  stable  is  now  so  well 
understood  that  it  need  not  be  dwelt  upon.  The 
horse,  having  a  peculiarly  fine  organization,  is  espe- 
cially sensitive  to  the  presence  or  absence  of  sunshine. 
A  good  Vet  will  never  perforin  an  operation  on  a 
cloudy  day  if  it  be  possible  to  postpone  it ;  and  where 
distemper,  or  any  other  disease,  runs  through  a  stable, 
it  will,  I  believe,  invariably  be  found  that  the  lightest 
cases  and  quickest  recoveries  occur  in  the  stalls  that 
receive  the  most  sunshine,  although  none  of  them 
may  be  actually  dark.  So  also  it  is  now  commonly 
understood  that  stables  should  be  cool,  —  a  truth 
which  English  horsemen  have  been  very  slow  to  learn. 
Even  "  iSTimrod,"  an  advanced  writer  with  new  and 
sensible  theories  about  hunters,  thought  that  horses 
could  hardly  be  kept  in  the  pink  of  condition  if  the 
temperature  of  their  quarters  fell  much  below  seven- 
ty-five degrees !  To  their  hot,  ill  ventilated  stables 
many  English  writers  ascribe  the  former  excessive 
prevalence  of  roaring,  now  fast  decreasing  in  Eng- 
land, and  in  this  country  almost  unknown. 

A  temperature  of  fifty-five  degrees  is  not  far  from 
the  right  one  in  winter,  and  any  degree  of  cold  above 
freezing  will  be  borne  by  horses  with  perfect  comfort, 
provided  they  are  well  blanketed.  The  real  enemy  of 
the  horse  is  not  cold,  but  dampness ;  and  against  that 
he  is  to  be  defended  at  all  points.  If  a  horse  begins 
to  cough,  let  him  be  put  in  the  sunniest,  driest  part 
of  the  stable,  and  he  will  recover  the  sooner,  even 
though  his  new  situation  be  much  cooler  than  the  old 
one.     Dogs  in  damp  kennels  always  have  rheumatism, 


THE   CARE    OF    HORSES.  293 

and  horses  have  even  less  affinity  than  dogs  for 
dampness.  Dryness  of  climate,  says  a  recent  writer, 
"  is  the  great  factor  in  producing  not  only  sound  feet, 
but  sound  limbs,  tendons,  and  bone."  However,  it  is 
time  to  look  a  little  closer  at  our  stalls,  and  to  see 
what  they  contain  in  the  way  of 

Bedding. 

Here  is  a  gamy-looking  black  mare  standing  on  a 
deep  bed  of  dark  brown  stuff  which  might  be,  and 
indeed  has  been,  mistaken  by  the  unsophisticated  for 
a  muck-heap.  I  need  hardly  say  that  it  is  peat-moss. 
It  is  not  nice  to  look  at,  and  one  would  rather  see  his 
horses  knee  deep  in  golden  straw ;  but  it  has  this 
great  advantage :  it  cannot  be  eaten  even  bj  the  most 
voracious  animal,  and  consequently  it  is  suitable  for 
horses  that  devour  their  bedding  and  get  too  fat. 
Moreover,  it  keeps  the  feet  soft.  No  horse  bedded 
writh  peat-moss  ever  requires  to  have  his  feet  stopped ; 
and  it  is  invaluable  in  cases  where  the  hoof  is  defect- 
ive or  deficient,  and  needs  to  be  "grown  out."  Fur- 
ther, it  is  free  from  odor,  and  incombustible.  Some- 
times peat-moss  renders  the  frog  too  soft,  so  that  the 
horse,  especially  if  he  be  used  unshod,  is  apt  to  be- 
come foot-sore,  but  this  bad  effect  might  always  be 
avoided  by  a  frequent  renewal  of  the  peat-moss. 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  question  of  expense.  The 
material  costs  about  $2.50  per  bale,  and  each  bale  will 
supply  one  box  stall  or  two  straight  stalls.  The  peat- 
moss should  be  forked  over  every  day  to  mix  the  wet 
and  the  dry.  But  how  long  does  it  last  ?  That  de- 
pends almost  entirely  upon  the  habit  of  the  particular 
horse  in  eating  his  hay ;    if  he  eats  it  up  clean,  the 


294         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


,      iii^vu., 


peat-moss  bedding  will  last  a  long  time.  The  black 
mare  before  us  was  bedded  down  seven  weeks  ago. 
and  her  bed  will  last  a  week  or  two  yet,  perhaps 
longer.  Other  horses,  that  scatter  their  hay  and 
trample  it  under  foot,  need  a  fresh  bale  every  two 
or  three  weeks,  and  perhaps  the  average  time  that 
it  lasts  in  good  condition  is  four  weeks.  Thus  it 
appears,  on  the  whole,  that  peat-moss  is  a  cheap  form 
of  bedding. 

In  summer,  sawdust  frequently  renewed  makes  a 
good  bed,  but  it  is  too  cold  for  winter,  except  as  a  sub- 
stratum with  straw  on  top.  Where  I  live  "  meadow '; 
hay  cut  near  the  river  can  be  had  for  $6  or  $7  per 
ton.  It  is  not  quite  so  clean  as  straw  for  bedding ; 
but  some  of  it  will  be  eaten  by  horses,  and,  unless 
their  work  is  fast  work,  it  forms  not  only  a  cheap,  but 
also  a  wholesome  food.  The  best  straw  for  bedding, 
as  everybody  knows,  is  rye  straw,  which  usually  costs 
about  $20  per  ton,  and  is  more  economical  than  oat 
straw,  which  costs  about  half  as  much.  The  bedding 
should  of  course  be  well  dried  in  the  sun ;  meadow 
hay  can  thus  be  used  twice,  oat  straw  two  or  three 
times,  and  rye  straw  half  a  dozen  times  or  more. 

The  chief  points  to  be  observed  about  bedding  are, 
first,  that  it  should  always  be  kept  under  a  horse,  for 
the  reasons  previously  stated,  and,  secondly,  that  it 
should  be  used  profusely.  A  horse  likes  a  deep  soft 
bed,  —  such  as  he  does  not  usually  have  in  ]STew  Eng- 
land. An  English  groom  will  bed  down  his  horses  in 
a  manner  to  make  a  Yankee  stare.  But  if  the  truth 
were  known,  liberal  bedding  is  not  only  beneficial  to 
the  horse,  it  is  also  economical.  If  much  straw  be 
used,  it  can  all  be  dried,  and  used  again  and  again, 


THE   CARE   OF    HORSES.  295 

whereas,  if  the  supply  be  stinted,  a  large  part  of  it 
will  become  so  dirty  as  to  be  incapable  of  further 
use.     Bedding  is  only  less  important  than 

Feeding. 

Under  fed,  hard  worked  horses  sometimes  fall  in  the 
street  from  sheer  weakness,  induced  by  want  of  oats. 
On  the  other  hand,  many,  perhaps  most,  gentlemen's 
horses  are  fed  too  high.  In  city  stables,  especially  in 
boarding  and  club  stables,  the  horses  receive  too  much 
grain  and  too  little  hay.  Consequently  they  are  apt 
to  have  a  shrunken  appearance,  and  to  become  what  is 
known  as  "grain-burnt." 

For  young  horses  and  colts,  hay  three  times  a  day, 
and  plenty  of  it,  is  indispensable.  The  physiological 
reason  for  this  was  well  stated  by  Hiram  Woodruff, 
as  follows:  "In  order  to  thrive,  the  horse,  young  or 
old,  must  not  only  have  his  stomach  supplied  with  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  nutritious  food,  but  also  with 
enough  matter  not  so  highly  nutritious  to  distend  it. 
A  horse  or  a  colt  fed  only  on  the  substances  which 
go  to  make  up  his  substance  would  starve,  though  you 
gave  them  to  him  in  the  greatest  abundance."  And 
he  adds,  on  the  same  subject:  "While  the  animal  is 
young,  a  good  distention  of  the  stomach  is  calculated 
to  produce  that  roundness  of  rib  which  we  see  in 
so  many  of  our  best  horses.  Now  this  capacity  of 
the  carcass  ...  is  not  going  to  be  obtained  by  the 
feeding  of  food  in  the  concentrated  shape.  Bulk 
is  required,  and  the  pulp  and  essence  need  not  be 
given  in  large  quantity  until  the  organization  is 
formed,  and  extraordinary  exertion  is  required  of 
the   horse." 


296         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

"Make  your  head  early,  my  boy,"  was  a  piece  of 
advice  solemnly  given  to  me  by  an  old  toper,  when  I 
was  about  twelve  years  of  age ;  and  if  I  were  to  ad- 
monish a  colt  in  the  same  spirit,  I  should  say  to  him, 
"  Make  your  stomach  early." 

Much  benefit  is  often  obtained  from  a  change  of 
food.  Thus,  if  a  horse  does  not  do  well  on  oats  and 
hay,  he  may  be  tried  with  provender  in  place  of  oats. 
"  Provender,"  as  the  term  is  used  hereabout,  means 
oats  and  corn  ground  up  together ;  and  sometimes 
the  mixture  is  subjected  by  the  miller  to  a  steaming 
or  cooking  process,  with  good  results.  This  is  of 
course  a  heavier  food  than  oats,  and  more  fatten- 
ing ;  but  it  may  safely  be  given  in  cold  weather.  In 
cold  weather,  also,  a  little  whole  corn  (cracked  corn 
is  always  to  be  avoided)  can  be  fed  to  advantage.  A 
pint  of  corn  in  two  or  three  quarts  of  bran,  made  into 
a  mash  with  boiling  water,  constitutes  an  excellent 
supper  on  a  wintry  night  for  horses  that  are  doing 
very  little  work.  But  for  riding  and  driving  horses, 
the  chief  reliance  in  the  way  of  grain,  year  in  and 
year  out,  must  be  oats. 

As  to  the  quantity  proper  to  be  given,  no  rules 
can  be  laid  down,  because  horses  differ  so  much  in 
this  respect.  Here,  for  example,  if  the  reader  will 
accompany  me  to  the  end  of  the  row,  are  two  contig- 
uous stalls  occupied  respectively  by  a  big  bay  mare 
and  a  small  black  one.  The  bay  mare  is  a  handsome 
creature,  with  an  aristocratic  head,  large  mild  eyes, 
and  hunter-like  legs ;  but  her  back  is  too  long,  the 
coupling  is  loose,  and  her  constitution  is  soft.  The 
black  mare,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  short-backed,  com- 
pact, tough,  wiry  animal,  and  she  will  do  twice  the 


THE   CARE   OF    HORSES.  297 

work  of  the  bay  mare  on  exactly  half  the  food.  This 
bay  mare  has  another  peculiarity,  she  bolts  her  oats 
without  stopping  to  chew  them.  To  correct  this,  an 
old  bridle  is  always  kept  hanging  at  the  door  of  the 
stall,  and  when  her  oats  are  given  to  her  the  bit  is 
slipped  in  her  mouth.  It  would  be  well  also,  in  the 
case  of  such  horses,  when  kept  in  loose  boxes,  to 
have  a  manger  made  in  the  shape  of  a  long  narrow 
trough,  running  the  length  of  the  stall.  If  the  oats 
were  scattered  over  this  manger,  an  additional  hin- 
drance to  bolting  them  would  be  provided.  A  "  slow 
feeding "  manger  has  been  patented,  and  is  now  on 
the  market,  which  accomplishes  the  same  object  by 
doling  out  the  oats  through  a  small  aperture. 

Ground  oats  can  sometimes  be  fed  with  advantage, 
but  a  horse  that  bolts  his  grain  is  apt  to  be  a  "  soft " 
horse,  and  to  feed  him  on  ground  oats  would  aggravate 
this  tendency.  Not  long  since,  I  happened  to  take 
up  a  disquisition  on  pigs,  and  my  eye  fell  upon  this 
passage  :  "  A  hog  ought  to  eat  his  food  up  clean,  but 
he  ought  not  to  make  a  mad  rush  for  the  trough ; 
that  shows  an  inferior  constitution."  I  believe  that 
this  remark  is  equally  true  of  horses. 

After  what  I  have  said  of  the  two  animals  just 
mentioned,  the  reader  will  hardly  need  to  be  told 
that  the  bay  mare  seldom  if  ever  requires  a  bran 
mash ;  whereas  the  black  mare  has  one  twice  a  week 
through  the  winter,  when  grass  is  not  obtainable. 
The  office  of  a  bran  mash  is  to  loosen  the  bowels,  cool 
the  blood,  and  purify  the  system.  At  the  close  of  a 
long,  hot  day's  work,  give  a  horse  a  good  cleaning,  a 
bran  mash,  and  a  soft  bed,,  and  it  is  wonderful  how 
fresh  he  will  come  out  in  the  morning.     And  here  —  at 


298         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

the  risk  of  causing  some  horsy  person  to  throw  down 
my  book  in  disgust — I  will  state  this  elementary 
fact :  A  bran  mash,1  consisting  ordinarily  of  six 
quarts,  is  made  by  pouring  boiling  water  upon  the 
bran,  stirring  it,  and  then  covering  it  with  a  thick 
cloth  or  otherwise,  and  letting  it  steam  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes.  The  cloth  may  then  be  removed 
and  the  bran  given  to  the  horse,  in  winter  while  it 
is  still  warm,  in  summer  when  it  is  cool. 

All  tough  healthy  horses  need  bran,  or  its  equiva- 
lent. In  fact,  this  general  proposition  may  be  laid 
down :  strong  horses  kept  on  stable  food  have  a  ten- 
dency to  tightness  of  the  bowels,  just  as  delicate 
horses  have  the  opposite  tendency.  In  the  latter  case, 
a  simple  remedy,  to  be  used  whenever  necessary,  is  a 
cupful  of  ordinary  wheat  flour  mixed  with  the  grain 
or  put  in  a  pail  of  water.  In  some  stables  the  horses 
are  "  salted "  when  they  receive  a  bran  mash ;  but 
the  better  plan  is  alwa}^s  to  have  a  lump  of  rock  salt 
in  a  little  rack  by  itself,  where  it  will  not  contaminate 
the  oats.  Thus  the  horse  can  help  himself  according 
to  his  needs.  When  salt  is  given  only  occasionally, 
the  animal  is  sure  to  take  a  great  deal,  and  to  follow 
it  up  by  drinking  immoderately  of  cold  water.  Colic 
has  often  been  caused  in  this  manner. 

Bran  is  a  kind  of  artificial  grass,  and  in  summer  I 
prefer  to  let  my  horses  graze  a  little,  or,  if  this  be 
impracticable,  to  have  grass  cut  for  them,  which  they 
like  much  less.  jSTot  many  years  ago  it  would  have 
been  thought  madness  to  give  grass  to  a  horse  in  full 
training ;  but  this  is  done  nowadays  with  great  benefit 

1  I  use  the  generic  term  "  bran,"  but  I  mean  "  shorts,"  which 
have  more  bodv  than  bran . 


THE    CARE   OF    HORSES.  2\ »9 

in  the  case  both  of  runners  and  trotters.  If  possible, 
let  the  horse  graze  in  the  early  morning,  while  the 
blades  are  still  wet.  The  grass  is  sweeter  and  more 
juicy  at  this  time,  and  the  dew  is  an  excellent  med- 
icine for  the  feet. 

When  horses  have  their  shoes  removed  and  are 
turned  out  to  pasture,  care  should  be  taken  not  to 
make  the  change  too  sudden.  Many  a  fine  animal  has 
been  killed  by  direct  transition  from  a  warm  stable 
and  blankets  to  the  open  air  and  cold  ground.  Let 
the  blankets  be  taken  off  while  the  horse  is  still  kept 
under  cover ;  and  turn  him  out  at  night  for  the  first 
time.  If  he  is  turned  out  in  the  morning,  he  will 
feed  all  day,  and  at  night-time  lie  down,  and,  very 
likely,  catch  cold ;  but  if  he  is  turned  out  hungry  at 
night,  he  will  keep  on  his  feet  all  or  nearly  all  the 
time  till  morning ;  and  the  first  night  is  of  course  the 
dangerous  one.  Another  good  plan  is  to  take  the 
horse  in  the  first  night  just  before  you  go  to  bed ;  and 
finally,  it  is  practicable  to  turn  a  horse  out  blanketed. 
A  second  surcingle  sewed  to  the  blanket  and  passing 
around  the  flanks  can  be  used.  A  horse  in  active 
service  can  thus  be  given  a  night  out  with  safety. 

Xow,  however,  as  I  observe  that  the  reader  is  be- 
coming bored,  we  will  move  on  to  the  grooming-room ; 
but  as  we  pass  by  the  hay-mows  I  cannot  refrain  from 
this  remark :  the  popular  notion  that  horses  like 
coarse  hay  best,  and  thrive  best  upon  it,  is  a  huge 
mistake.  The  second  or  third  quality  of  hay  as  it 
would  be  deemed  in  respect  to  coarseness  is  the  best. 
Nine  city  horsemen  out  of  ten,  I  am  aware,  would 
deny  this  proposition ;  but  the  tenth  is  the  man  who 
has  tried  the  experiment. 


300         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE 


i    ^"^^"-> 


But  here  we  are  at  the  watering  trough,  and  despite 
my  implied  promise,  I  shall  button-hole  the  reader 
for  a  moment  more  before  we  leave  the  main  stable. 
Horses  require  water  that  is  pure  and  soft.  Many 
well-bred  nags  will  not  drink  from  a  pail  in  which 
another  animal  has  already  had  his  nose.  The  Arabs 
regard  pure  water  as  of  the  highest  importance ; 
and  they  do  not  hesitate  to  risk  their  lives,  as  by 
leaving  camp  at  night  when  the  enemy  is  near,  in 
order  to  water  their  horses  at  some  fresh  spring  of 
which  they  have  knowledge.  This  is  the  form  in 
which  they  describe  a  man  of  thoroughly  bad  and 
contemptible  character :  — 

"  His  horse  drinks  troubled  water. 
And  his  covering  is  full  of  holes." 

The  oftener  a  horse  drinks  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  the  less  he  will  drink.  Therefore,  the  best  plan 
is  to  have  water  always  before  him  at  his  meals.  It 
was  found  by  experiment  at  the  Duke  of  Beaufort's 
stables,  that  under  this,  the  modern  system,  a  horse 
drank  only  five  gallons,  whereas,  when  watered  but 
twice  during  the  day,  he  drank  eight  gallons.1  Of 
course,  if  the  comparison  had  been  made  with  three 
instead  of  two  waterings  a  clay,  the  discrepancy  would 
not  have  been  so  great.  At  Badminton,  I  believe, 
slate  troughs  are  used  for  this  purpose.  A  better 
plan,  perhaps  would  be  to  have  pail-holders  fixed 
alongside  the  grain  mangers.  Then  a  pail  of  fresh 
water  could  be  put  in  whenever  the  horse  was  fed. 

1  From  this  it  seems  necessary  to  infer  that  formerly  at  Bad- 
mington  horses  were  watered  but  twice  a  day,  although  it  is 
difficult  to  believe  that  so  preposterous  a  system  <was  practised. 


THE   CARE    OF    HORSES.  301 

With  a  permanent  watering  trough  in  the  stall,  there 
must  be  danger  of  the  water  becoming  stale,  and  also 
of  the  horse's  drinking  from  it  when  he  comes  in 
heated  by  his  work. 

The  next  best  thing  to  having  water  constantly 
before  the  horse  at  his  meals  is  to  give  it  to  him 
frequently,  four  times  a  day  being  the  minimum. 
Should  he  be  watered  before  or  after  eating  ?  All 
the  books  say  before,  but  in  this  country  the  almost 
universal  practice  is  to  give  it  afterward.  The  the- 
ory of  the  books  is,  that,  when  a  horse  is  watered  alter 
his  feed  of  grain,  the  water  tends  to  wash  the  latter 
out  of  his  stomach,  where  it  should  digest,  to  the  gut 
or  second  stomach.  But  it  seems  to  be  more  natural 
for  the  horse,  as  it  is  for  man,  to  drink  after  eating 
rather  than  before,  provided  he  cannot  drink  while 
eating.  A  horse  who  is  both  hungry  and  thirsty  will 
refuse  water  until  he  has  had  food.  There  is  another 
consideration  which  I  have  never  seen  mentioned, 
namely,  that  a  horse  is  likely  to  eat  his  grain  more 
slowly,  and  to  chew  it  better,  if  he  is  thirsty,  than  if 
he  has  just  been  watered.  My  own  way  is  to  water 
him  after  he  has  eaten  his  grain,  and  before  he  has 
his  hay.  At  Palo  Alto  the  horses  are  watered  two 
hours  after  eating.  Whatever  the  system  adopted, 
there  is  one  time  at  which  almost  all  horses  like  to 
drink,  and  that  is  about  nine  or  ten  at  night,  wThen  the 
stable  is,  or  should  be,  visited  by  the  groom  or  master, 
the  beds  arranged  if  they  need  it,  surcingles  looked 
to,  and  the  horses  watered. 

As  to  watering  on  the  road,  very  good  horsemen 
differ  widely  in  their  practice,  some  eschewing  water- 
ing troughs  almost  altogether,  whereas  others  drive 


302         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

up  to  every  trough,  aud  let  the  horse  drink  his  fill. 
Neither  example,  in  my  opinion,  should  be  followed. 
The  best  way  is  to  water  the  roadster  often  in  hot 
weather,  but  to  give  him  only  a  little  at  a  time ;  in 
cold  weather,  less  often.  Some  horses  indeed  can  be 
allowed  with  impunity  to  drink  all  they  want ;  well- 
bred  nags  especially,  although  they  like  to  plunge 
their  noses  deep  in  the  trough,  do  not  often  drink  to 
excess.  However,  by  watching  the  effect  of  water 
upon  his  horse's  bowels,  the  driver  will  soon  learn 
how  to  treat  him  in  this  respect. 

Even  in  the  stable  certain  soft  horses,  whose  blood 
is  apt  to  be  heated,  should  have  their  appetite  for 
water  restrained ;  they  like  the  feeling  of  it  going 
down  their  throats,  and  will  drink  greedily.  It  would 
be  well  if  such  animals  were  always  bitted  before  be- 
ing watered ;  thus  they  would  be  compelled  to  drink 
slowly,  and  a  less  quantity  would  satisfy  them.  As  a 
rule,  the  healthiest  horses  drink  the  least.  More  than 
one  good  pailful  should  never  be  given  at  a  time  to 
anv  horse.  But  let  there  be  no  interference  with 
nature  in  respect  to  water  without  good  reason.  Be- 
yond doubt,  some  ignorant  and  fanciful  grooms  keep 
their  charges  in  torment  for  want  of  it. 

One  general  remark  more,  and  then  the  reader  shall 
be  allowed  to  escape  from  the  vicinity  of  the  trough : 
very  cold  water  should  always  be  tempered  before  it 
is  given  to  a  horse,  especially  in  summer.  ISTow  let 
us  enter  the  small  room  in  front,  whence  proceeds 
that  periodic  whang  of  the  currycomb  on  the  floor, 
which  indicates  that  within  goes  on  the  important 
process  of 


the  care  of  horses.        303 

Grooming. 

The  necessary  tools  are  a  currycomb  and  the  brush 
that  accompanies  it,  a  mane  brush,  a  good,  soft  cloth, 
a  scraper,  towels,  a  pick  for  the  feet,  sponges,  and  a 
pail.  To  these  may  be  added  with  advantage  a  softer 
brush,  almost  like  a  hat  brush,  and  a  chamois  skin. 
Combs  and  cards  should  be  banished  to  the  cow  sta- 
ble. To  discriminate  a  good  groom  from  a  bad  one 
is  a  matter  for  the  experienced  eye  of  about  fifteen 
seconds.  If  a  man  undertakes  to  clean  your  horse, 
whatever  the  circumstances,  without  first  removing 
his  coat,  you  may  be  sure  that  he  is  a  sluggard  and 
an  impostor.  The  retention  of  his  waistcoat  even 
gives  reasonable  ground  for  suspicion,  and  the  real 
workman  is  almost  sure  to  let  down  his  suspenders 
and  roll  up  his  sleeves.  When,  as  will  happen  some- 
times at  a  Xew  England  tavern,  a  young  man  wearing 
spectacles,  and  with  the  languid  air  of  a  divinity  stu- 
dent, looks  after  the  stable,  I  take  off  my  own  coat. 

There  are  four  places  in  especial  on  the  horse  which 
a  lazy  or  incompetent  groom  will  neglect,  and  which 
may  be  examined  as  a  criterion.  These  are  the  inside 
of  his  ears,  the  crevice,  so  to  say,  under  his  jaws,  the 
inside  of  his  hind  quarters,  and  the  part  under  his 
tail,  which  should  be  cleaned  with  a  wet  sponge  at 
least  once  a  day,  for  much  dust  and  dandruff  collect 
there.  The  root  of  the  mane  is  also  frequently  a 
neglected  spot. 

Perhaps  the  cardinal  principle  in  grooming  is  this : 
the  currycomb  should  not  be  employed  on  the  horse, 
but  on  the  brush.  Xow  the  ordinary  horse  owner  will 
declare  that  this  statement  is  applicable  only  to  the 


304  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

stables  of  rich  men,  where  grooms  are  abundant ; 
and  such,  I  confess,  was  long  my  opinion.  But  when 
finally  I  tried  the  experiment  with  my  own  hands,  I 
quickly  discovered  the  mistake.  The  truth  is,  that  a 
horse  can  be  cleaned  not  only  much  better,  but  much 
quicker,  without  the  currycomb,  used  upon  him,  than 
with  it ;  the  reason  being  that  the  currycomb  applied 
to  his  skin  irritates  it,  and  therefore  produces  more 
dandruff  than  it  removes.  The  true  way  to  clean  the 
horse  is  to  rub  him  round  and  round  with  the  brush ; 
and  to  supplement  this  by  smoothing  down  the  hair 
with  a  cloth  or  a  chamois  skin,  or  both.  Thus  he 
can  be  made  and  kept  perfectly  clean.  Even  a  mane 
brush  is  too  severe  for  a  very  fine-coated  animal.  An 
Indian  Sayce  does  his  work  almost  entirely  with  the 
palms  of  his  hands.  A  wet  wisp  of  hay  or  straw 
is  very  effective  in  taking  up  dandruff  ;  but  the  main 
reliance  must  be  the  currycomb  brush. 

"If  a  horse  is  clean,"  writes  Major  Fisher,1  "no 
scurf  or  grease  of  any  kind  should  ever  adhere  to  the 
hand  when  rubbed  over  the  skin.  If  your  groom 
assures  you  to  the  contrary,  and  says  that  you  must 
expect  a  little,  he  lies,  and  knows  it  too." 

It  is  related  of  Mr.  Jefferson  that  he  was  accus- 
tomed at  Monticello,  his  Virginia  home,  whenever  a 
horse  was  brought  round  from  the  stables  for  his 
morning  ride,  to  rub  the  animal's  coat  with  a  cambric 
handkerchief,  and  if  any  grease  or  dirt  appeared  on 
it,  the  negro  groom  was  reprimanded,  and  the  horse 
sent  back  to  the  stables. 

1  Author  of  "Through  Stable  and  Saddle-Room,"  perhaps 
the  most  practical  work  on  the  subject  of  horse-keeping  ever 
published. 


THE    CARE    OF    HORSES.  305 

Another  common  mistake  relates  to  the  virtues  of 
"rubbing  down."  On  a  hot  day,  for  example,  a  trav- 
eller arriving  at  his  destination  flings  the  reins  to  the 
hostler,  and  tells  him  to  give  the  horse  "a  good  rub- 
bing down."  But  what  the  animal  needs  is  to  cool 
off,  whereas  rubbing  tends  to  heat.  A  better  treat- 
ment would  be  as  follows.  Take  off  the  harness,  and 
immediately  sponge  with  cold  water  the  parts  under 
the  collar  or  breastplate  and  under  the  saddle.  Thus, 
and  thus  only,  are  sore  backs  and  shoulders  prevented. 
If  there  is  any  swelling,  or  as  a  precaution  in  hot 
weather,  it  is  well  to  use  arnica  and  water,  in  the 
proportion  of  two  to  one.  Xext  sponge  his  nostrils 
and  dock;  then  with  a  damp,  but  by  no  means  a  wet 
sponge,  wipe  the  dust  from  his  whole  body ;  and, 
finally,  let  him  drink  two  swallows  of  fresh  water, 
and  put  him  in  a  stall  with  plenty  of  bedding.  When 
thoroughly  cool  he  may  be  watered  moderately,  then 
fed,  then  groomed,  watered  again,  and  put  to  bed.  It 
is  best,  of  course,  especially  in  hot  weather,  to  have 
the  horse  walked  about  awhile  instead  of  being  put 
in  his  stall  at  once.1 

I  remember  seeing,  years  ago,  a  perfect  illustration 
of  what  might  be  called  fanatical  rubbing  dowrn.  It 
was  in  a  trotting  race  of  many  heats,  one  of  the  com- 
petitors being  a  little  bay  stallion,  much  noted  at  the 
time,  called  William  H.  Allen.  The  practice  then  was 
to  rub  the  horses  dry  with  towels  between  heats,  and 

1  "  When  a  journey  has  been  long  continued  and  severe,  the 
horse  should  not  be  immediately  put  into  a  stable,  but  ought  to 
be  walked  gently  about  until  the  circulation  of  blood  in  the  feet  has 
had  time  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  altered  conditions  of  rest 
By  this   means  laminitis  (inflammation  of  the  feet)  is  averted.' 
Mr.  George  Fleming,  F.  R.  G.  S. 

20 


oUti         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

William  H.  Allen  was  led  under  a  tree  for  that  pur- 
pose. But  being  a  nervous  horse,  and  his  skin  doubt- 
less beiug  tender  from  continual  rubbing,  he  strongly 
objected  to  the  practice,  and  spent  the  whole  time  of 
what  should  have  been  his  intervals  of  rest  in  vain 
attempts  to  kick  his  tormentors,  lashing  out  at  them 
with  his  hind  legs,  and  pawing  and  striking  with  his 
fore  legs.  He  lost  the  race,  partly  perhaps  because 
he  was  handicapped  by  these  unnecessary  exertions. 
The  practice  nowadays  is,  after  a  brief  scraping  and 
drying,  with  the  application  of  liniment  and  some- 
times the  bandaging  of  the  legs,  to  walk  the  horse 
about,  blanketed  according  to  the   weather. 

After  very  long  drives  I  rub  my  nags'  legs  with  a 
strong  solution  of  arnica  and  water,  or,  perhaps  bet- 
ter, with  a  mixture  of  arnica,  Xew  England  rum,  and 
water  in  about  equal  parts.  Alcohol  is  of  course  the 
essential  ingredient.  This  should  be  applied  from  a 
point  above  the  hock  or  knee  to  the  foot,  and  on  all 
sides  of  the  leg ;  it  tends  to  prevent  spavin,  curb,  and 
windgalls.  There  is  nothing  like  rubbing  of  the  legs 
for  a  tired  horse.  The  animal  stands  in  his  stall 
with  drooping  head,  eyes  nearly  closed,  and  appetite 
gone.1  Now  take  him  in  hand,  clean  him  well  but 
quickly,  then  gently  pull  his  ears,  and  rub  his  legs 
for  half  an  hour  if  necessary,  not  up  and  down,  but 
downward  so  as  to  induce  a  proper  circulation  of 
the  blood,  and  to  soothe  the  muscles.  Before  long 
his  eyes  will  open,  his  head  will  be  raised,  his  ears 
pricked  forward,  and  you  will  soon  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  him  munch  his  hay. 

1  I  have  seen  horses  in  this  condition,  but  not  as  the  result  of 
my  own  driving. 


THE    CARE    OF    HORSES.  307 

In  cold  weather  the  advantages  of  rubbing  down 
are  more  real :  but  if  the  horse  be  in  a  sweat,  and  the 
stable  be  cool,  there  is  danger  in  the  process,  unless 
three  or  four  men  can  be  employed  in  it.  "The  horse 
must  immediately  be  rubbed  dry,  when  he  comes  in," 
say  most  of  the  books ;  but  in  the  mean  time,  for  it 
cannot  be  done  in  a  moment,  the  horse  catches  cold. 
The  better  way  is  to  let  him  stand  for  a  minute  or 
live  minutes,  according  to  the  temperature,  and  "steam 
off,"  then  blanket  him,  and  rub  his  head  and  neck  dry. 
Every  stable  should  have  at  least  one  hood,  to  be  used, 
for  example,  when  a  horse  goes  to  the  blacksmith  shop 
in  excessively  cold  weather,  and  more  especially  to  be 
used  in  the  stable.  In  cold  weather,  whenever  a 
horse  comes  in  thoroughly  wet,  either  with  rain  or 
sweat,  I  put  on  a  hood,  removing  it  as  soon  as  the 
hair  is  dry.  If  the  whole  body  be  wet  with  rain,  one 
thick  blanket  should  be  put  on,  to  be  followed  in 
about  five  minutes  by  another,  and  perhaps  two  more, 
for  under  these  circumstances  heavy  blanketing  is 
necessary.  The  water  will  go  to  the  top  blanket, 
leaving  the  one  next  to  the  horse  perfectly  dry,  —  al- 
though this  result  is  the  opposite  of  that  which  the 
inexperienced  person  would  expect. 

And  how  about  the  legs  ?  Their  proper  treatment 
is  summed  up  in  the  old  stable  aphorism :  "  If  they 
are  wet,  dry  them  ;  if  they  are  dry,  leave  them  dry." 
Nothing  could  be  more  irrational  than  the  practice, 
formerly  common  and  not  yet  extinguished,  of  sluicing 
the  horse's  legs  with  water  immediately  on  his  coming 
into  the  stable.  This  might  perhaps  be  done  without 
harm,  if  the  legs  could  be  dried  at  once  after  the 
washing ;  but  this  operation  would  be  a  long  one,  and 


308  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

nine  times  out  of  ten  it  would  be  slurred.  Windgalls 
occur  far  more  frequently  in  hot  weather  than  in  cold 
weather,  and  by  way  of  preventing  or  reducing  them 
I  think  it  well  to  wash  the  horse's  legs  on  very  hot 
days,  provided  that  he  is  perfectly  cool  at  the  time 

But  no  matter  how  muddy  the  going  may  be,  the 
legs  ought  not  to  be  washed  on  that  account.  My 
method  is  to  brush  off  so  much  of  the  mud  as  will 
come  off,  and  then  to  have  the  legs  bandaged,  but  not 
tightly,  with  flannel  or  woollen  bandages,  to  be  left 
on,  usually  half  an  hour  or  more,  till  the  hair  is  per- 
fectly dry.  Then  they  are  taken  off,  and  the  legs 
brushed  and  rubbed  clean.1  Care  should  be  taken  to 
have  the  bandages  come  down  low,  so  as  to  cover 
the  hollow  place  back  of  the  fetlock  joint  where 
•'scratches"  appear.  If  this  method  be  pursued, 
and  if  plenty  of  vaseline  be  used  on  the  heels,  and 
in  the  spot  just  mentioned,  reinforced  occasionally 
by  glycerine,  say  once  a  week,  scratches  and  mud 
fever  can  be  avoided  absolutely. 

From  the  legs  of  the  horse,  it  is  a  natural  transi- 
tion to 

The  Foot. 

Extreme  dryness  and  extreme  moisture  are  the  chief 
enemies  of  the  equine  foot,  and  they  both  produce 
thrush,  which  is  a  kind  of  white  decay,  indicated  by  a 
peculiar  and  offensive  odor.  Commonly  it  attacks  the 
frog,  and  sometimes  the  sole  of  the  foot.  If  taken 
in  hand  early,  it  can  be  cured  by  the  application  of 
common  salt  saturated  with  petroleum ;  and  the  most 
severe  case  will  yield  to  a  solution  of  blue  vitriol  and 

1  This  is  the  plan  recommended  by  Major  Fisher. 


THE    CAKE    OF    HORSES.  309 

vinegar.  The  blue  vitriol,  about  two  ounces,  nun-  be 
put  in  a  quart  bottle  of  water,  filled  with  vinegar,  the 
vinegar  to  be  used  when  it  has  aquired  a  rich  green 
or  blue  tinge.  It  is  best  applied  by  means  of  a  small 
oil  can  with  a  spout.  Thus  the  liquid  can  be  directed 
where  it  is  needed,  without  touching  the  sound  parts 
of  the  foot.  Tar  and  many  other  remedies  are  also 
used  for  thrush. 

When  the  horse  is  groomed  in  the  morning,  his  feet 
should  be  well  picked  out,  and  in  summer  washed. 
In  most  good  stables,  the  foot  is  washed  also  when 
the  horse  comes  in.  I  have  noticed  that  horses  seem 
to  enjoy  this  process ;  and  a  thorough  soaking  of  the 
hoof  when  they  are  groomed  in  the  morning,  and 
again  when  they  come  in  after  work,  will  go  far  to 
keep  their  feet  soft  and  healthy.  Care  should  be 
taken,  especially  in  winter,  that  nothing  but  the  hoof 
is  wetted.  It  is  very  easy  for  the  groom  to  splash  a 
little  water  on  the  heels  and  under  the  fetlock,  and 
thus  scratches  may  be  induced.  For  this  reason,  the 
safer  plan  is  to  omit  washing  the  foot  in  winter  unless 
your  groom  happens  to  be  absolutely  trustworthy. 

At  grass,  the  foot  never  becomes  hard,  but  when 
the  horse  stands  on  straw  or  wood  it  is  apt  to  become 
hard  and  dry,  and  many  horses  require  to  have  their 
feet  stopped  once  a  week.  The  time-honored  material 
for  this  purpose  is  a  mixture  of  cow-dung  and  earth ; 
but  if  it  be  used,  the  foot  should  be  well  washed  the 
next  morning  with  soap  and  water.  In  cit}7  stables, 
oil-meal  and  bran  are  commonly  employed.  A  recent 
invention  for  this  object  is  petrolatum,  —  a  packing 
saturated  with  petroleum.  It  comes  in  pails  which 
aro  sold  at  $1.50  apiece,  and  a  pail  will  last  a  long 


310         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

time.  This  kind  of  stuffing  is  clean,  easy  to  apply, 
and  effectual  except  in  extreme  cases.  When  the 
foot  is  very  dry,  I  do  not  find  that  it  answers  the  pur. 
pose.  Some  authorities,  moreover,  maintain,  and  I 
believe  rightly,  that  oil  should  never  be  applied  to  a 
hoof,  because  it  renders  the  horn  brittle,  and  impairs 
its  quality.  This  is  the  opinion  of  Charles  Marvin, 
the  well  known  California  trainer,  whose  intelligence 
and  great  experience  with  horses  give  weight  to  the 
assertion.  Air.  George  Fleming,  also,  whose  prize 
essay,  "Practical  Horseshoeing,"  is  the  best  work 
on  its  subject  that  1  have  ever  seen,  holds  the  same 
view. 

Another  method  of  "  stopping,"  and  a  very  good 
one,  is  to  put  a  wet  sponge  or  a  handful  of  moss  in 
the  hoof,  keeping  it  in  place  by  a  small  stick,  or, 
better  yet,  by  a  thin  piece  of  steel,  stretched  across 
the  foot,  and  inserted  under  the  rim  of  the  shoe. 
Finally,  felt  pads  can  be  bought  for  seventy-five  cents 
a  pair,  which  are  secured  to  the  foot  by  means  of  an 
iron  toe-piece  and  a  strap  and  buckle.  Thrown  into 
a  pail  of  water,  these  pads  will  in  a  few  minutes  ab- 
sorb moisture  enough  to  last  all  night;  and  they  are 
convenient  to  use  on  a  journey.  After  a  very  long 
drive,  especially  in  summer,  the  horse's  fore  feet 
should  be  stopped  as  a  matter  of  course. 

Where  shoeing  has  to  be  done  frequently,  as  in  the 
case  of  fire  horses,  it  is  important  that  the  hoof  should 
grow  fast,  in  order  to  supply  the  necessary  waste  of 
horn.  Some  horses  also,  as  the  result  of  disease,  of 
bad  shoeing,  or  of  bad  formation,  have  a  deficiency 
of  hoof.  In  such  cases  it  is  common  to  apply  oil  to 
the   hoof;  but,  as  I  have  stated  already,  many  good 


THE    CARE    OF    HORSES.  311 

authorities  condemn  this  practice,  and  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  cold  water  is  better.  Wet  rags  tied 
around  the  coronet  will  serve  the  purpose ;  and  a 
sponge  arrangement  for  the  outside  of  the  hoof  can 
be  bought.  Peat-moss  bedding  also,  as  I  have  said, 
encourages  a  quick  growth  of  horn  ;  and  probably  the 
very  best  means  for  this  purpose,  though  one  not 
often  practicable,  is  to  turn  the  horse  out  in  a  pas- 
ture, part  of  which  is  salt  marsh.  I  have  known  an 
extraordinary  growth  of  hoof  to  be  promoted  in  this 
manner. 

For  rheumatism  and  sprains,  also,  sea  water  is  a 
remedy.  Its  tonic  and  strengthening  effect  upon 
horses  is  remarkable.  In  one  case  that  fell  under  my 
observation,  a  severe  lameness  in  the  shoulder  of  a 
little  bay  mare  was  cured  by  a  course  of  sea  baths. 
Her  owner  took  her  into  the  water  with  him  one  day 
as  an  experiment :  the  mare  liked  the  process,  and 
followed  her  master  into  the  waves  every  day  there- 
after for  a  month,  by  which  time  she  had  completely 
recovered. 

In  another  case,  a  horse  received  a  severe  sprain  in 
one  of  the  hind  ankles.  Hot  and  cold  water  were  ap- 
plied alternately  till  the  inflammation  disappeared, 
and  then  a  bandage  was  put  on,  and  kept  wet  with  sea 
water.     In  four  days  the  ankle  was  as  good  as  ever. 

I  might  add  here,  that,  in  all  cases  of  sprains,  per- 
fect rest  is  absolutelv  necessarv ;  and  there  is  no 
better  remedy  than  cold  water,  applied  by  means  of 
a  linen  bandage,  continually  wetted.  But  the  bandage 
should  be  taken  off  at  night,  for  it  will  become  dry  in 
an  hour's  time  or  less,  and  in  that  condition  it  is  heat- 
ing and  harmful.     For  sprain  of  the  hock,  or  of  other 


312  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE 


parts  inaccessible  to  a  bandage,  or  for  a  sore  back, 
when  the  skin  is  not  broken,  pure  alcohol  is  a  remedy 
which  I  have  found  efficacious. 

And  now  I  have  a  word  to  say  about 

Shoeing. 

The  first  principle  of  shoeing  is,  that  the  foot 
should  be  reduced  by  paring  or  burning  only  with 
the  greatest  caution,  and  in  the  least  possible  degree. 
Indeed,  some  of  the  latest  authorities  declare  that  the 
sole  of  the  foot  should  never  be  pared  or  burned, 
and  that  the  heels  should  never  be  "opened  out," 
i.  e.  that  the  horn  between  the  bars  of  the  foot  and 
the  frog  should  never  be  cut  away. 

But  I  think  that  in  some  exceptional  cases  the 
sole  of  the  foot  should  be  pared,  and  that,  more  fre- 
quently, it  is  best  to  "open  out"  the  heels.  Of  course 
the  sole  of  the  foot  grows  continually,  and  the  theory 
is  that  the  superfluous  or  old  part  comes  off  naturally 
in  flakes.  But  sometimes,  especially  when  the  horse 
is  shod  in  such  a  manner  that  the  bottom  of  his  foot 
is  absolutely  removed  from  contact  with  the  ground, 
the  sole  fails  to  wear  off  as  fast  as  nature  intended, 
and  as  a  result  it  begins  to  encroach  upon  the  frog. 
In  such  a  case  it  should  be  pared.  And  so  as  to  the 
heels.  If  the  heels  of  a  colt  be  examined,  a  small 
wedge-like  opening  will  always  be  found  between  the 
bars  and  the  frog.  Sometimes  in  old  horses  this  be- 
comes entirely  closed,  and  when  that  happens,  I  think 
it  should  be  opened  to  preserve  the  normal  condition 
of  the  foot. 

However,  as  a  rule,  neither  sole,  frog,  nor  bars 
should  be  touched,  and   the  wall  of  the  foot  should 


THE    CARE    OF    HORSES.  313 

be  pared  only  enough  to  keep  it  level,  and  to  prevent 
undue  length  at  the  toe.  The  amateur  may  be  sure 
that  a  blacksmith  whose  practice  is  to  pare  or  burn 
the  sole  of  his  horse's  foot  is  a  bad  blacksmith;  and 
he  may  almost  be  sure  that  one  who  does  not  pare 
or  burn  is  a  good  blacksmith.  In  former  days  it  was 
the  custom  to  pare  the  sole  almost  to  the  quick,  for 
absolutely  no  reason  ;  and  consequently,  whenever  a 
shoe  came  off,  the  horse  was  immediately  disabled. 
The  reader  of  fiction  or  poetry  of  the  last  century,  or 
of  the  first  half  of  the  present  century,  will  remember 
that,  whenever  the  traveller's  horse  cast  a  shoe,  the 
rider  wras  obliged  to  dismount  forthwith,  and  to  lead 
the  animal  with  slow  and  painful  steps  to  the  nearest 
smithy.  But  if  the  foot  be  left  undisturbed,  protected 
by  its  cover  of  horn,  the  loss  of  a  shoe  need  not  be 
made  good  for  a  day  or  a  week.  On  country  roads  a 
horse  with  sound  feet  should  be  able  to  travel  for  a 
week  or  so  without  shoes  ;  and  if  he  is  driven  or 
ridden  only  enough  to  keep  him  exercised,  he  may 
dispense  with  shoes  altogether.  This  at  least  is  true 
where  the  roads  are  soft,  but  where  the  roads  are 
hard  it  would  not  be  true. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  position  that  no  horse  ever 
need  be  shod  —  which  books  have  been  written  to 
maintain  —  is  an  absurdity.  A  city  dray  horse  wears 
out  every  month  an  iron  shoe  at  least  one  third  of  an 
inch  thick.  Would  the  horn  of  his  foot  last  so  long  ? 
The  ordinary  growth  of  horn  is  only  about  one  quarter 
of  an  inch  per  month ;  and  although  the  unshod  hoof 
may  grow  somewhat  faster,  it  does  not  grow  fast 
enough  to  compensate  for  the  wear  and  tear  of  ordi- 
nary roads.      Horses   in  the   wild   state,   and  horses 


314  ROAD,    TRACE,    AND    STABLE. 

turned  out  in  stony  pastures,  frequently  become  so 
foot-sore  that  they  can  hardly  step;  and  before  shoes 
were  invented  regiments  of  cavalry  were  sometimes 
disabled  from  the  same  cause.  Certainly,  if  shoes 
were  not  necessary,  such  a  clumsy  device  as  that  of 
skins,  like  sandals,  bound  about  the  horse's  foot, 
which  were  once  in  use,  would  never  have  been  em- 
ployed. Historians  tell  us  also  that  plates  of  metal, 
fastened  by  strings,  served  the  same  purpose  for  hun- 
dreds of  years.  Even  the  mustang's  feet  lack  the 
toughness  of  iron.  "  In  the  mountains,"  relates  Colo- 
nel T.  A.  Dodge,  in  a  recent  paper,  "where  the  sharp, 
flinty  stones  soon  wear  down  the  pony's  unshod  feet, 
this  Indian  [the  Apache]  will  shrink  raw  hide  over 
the  hoofs,  in  lieu  of  shoes,  and  this  resists  extremely 
well  the  attrition  of  the  mountain  paths." 

I  have  even  seen  it  stated  in  books,  that  a  horse 
unshod  can  travel  on  smooth  ice  better  than  if  he 
were  shod  with  corks.  This,  I  say,  has  been  stated 
as  an  absolute  fact,  and  elaborate  reasons  have  been 
given  for  it ;  and  yet  I  know  from  my  own  experience- 
that  a  barefooted  horse  is  perfectly  helpless  on  smooth 
ice.  On  rough  ice  indeed,  or  on  snow-covered  roads,  he 
will  travel  fairly  well  without  shoes,  stepping  shorter, 
of  course,  than  if  he  were  shod,  but  on  smooth  ice  he 
cannot  take  a  step  with  safety.  Unshod  colts  are  fre- 
quently lamed  by  slipping  in  icy  barnyards  or  fields. 
I  remember  once  narrowly  escaping  a  fall  while  riding 
a  barefooted  horse.  In  the  middle  of  the  street,  which 
sloped  a  little  to  the  sidewalk  on  each  side,  I  had  no 
difficulty ;  but  the  horse  shied  off,  struck  the  smooth 
ice,  and  we  found  ourselves  skating  down  toward  the 
gutter,  with  a  prospect  of  tumbling  wrhen  we  reached 


THE    CARE    OF    HORSES.  315 

the  bottom  ;  but  just  before  we  brought  up  against 
the  curbstone,  I  turned  the  horse's- head  gently  to  the 
left,  and  he,  understanding  what  was  wanted,  jumped 
lightly  to  the  sidewalk,  and  so  kept  his  feet. 

The  second  great  principle  in  shoeing  is  that  the 
foot  should  be  allowed  to  come  as  nearly  flat  to  the 
ground  as  possible.1  The  office  of  the  frog  is  to  sus- 
tain a  part  of  the  concussion  which  the  foot  and  leg 
receive  when  the  horse  steps ;  and  this  it  cannot  do 
when  the  shoe  is  so  built  up  on  corks  or  otherwise 
that  it  keeps  the  frog  clear  of  the  ground.  When  the 
frog  is  thus  deprived  of  its  natural  use,  the  blood  fails 
to  circulate  in  it,  and  it  becomes  atrophied  or  diseased. 
In  such  a  case,  also,  there  is  apt  to  be  a  consequent 
trouble  in  the  legs,  for  of  course  the  strain  upon  the 
legs  is  regulated  by  the  shape  and  position  of  the 
hoofs ;  and  this  brings  us  to  the  third  great  principle 
in  shoeing,  which  is,  that  the  horse  should  stand  upon 
his  feet  in  the  manner  that  nature  intended.  It  is 
plain  that  if  his  toe  be  left  too  long,  or  pared  too 
short,  or  if  the  hoof  is  so  treated  as  to  be  longer  or 
higher  on  one  side  than  the  other,  or  if  the  shoe  is 
put  on  too  far  forward  or  too  far  back,  —  in  these 
and  in  many  other  cases  that  might  be  mentioned,  the 
legs  do  not  bear  their  natural  relation  to  the  foot. 
The  consequence  is  that  some  muscles  and  tendons  of 
the  leg  do  less,  and  some  do  more,  than  their  quota  of 
work.  If,  for  example,  the  slope  of  the  hoof  in  front 
is  too  great,  the  back  tendons  and  joints  of  the  limbs 
must  be  strained. 

Even  Maud  S.  was  suffering  from  swollen  fore  legs 
and  strained  tendons  when  she  came  into  the  hands  of 

1  See  page  249,  for  the  Charlier  system  of  shoeing. 


316  ROAD,   TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

Mr.  Bonner.  But  her  new  owner,  who  has  made  a  close 
study  of  the  farrier's  art,  saw  at  once  that  she  did  not 
stand  true  on  her  feet.  Accordingly,  he  altered  the 
position  of  her  fore  shoes,  and  the  swelling  forthwith 
disappeared  from  her  legs.  Mr.  Bonner  had  a  similar 
experience  with  the  great  Sunol.  For  a  year  after 
his  purchase  of  her  she  remained  at  Palo  Alto,  and  a 
few  weeks  before  she  made  her  fast  record  of  2.08 J 
Mr.  Bonner  paid  the  mare  a  visit.  At  that  time  Snnol 
was  going  slightly  lame  in  one  fore  foot,  when  first 
tuken  out,  from  some  unknown  cause.  Mr.  Bonner 
carefully  examined  the  foot,  and  discovered  that  the 
wall  was  a  trifle  higher  on  one  side  than  on  the  other. 
This  was  rectified,  and  the  lameness  disappeared. 
Xow,  if  a  horse  can  become  lame  at  Palo  Alto  from 
such  a  cause,  and  the  cause  remain  undiscovered,  how 
numerous  and  mischievous  must  be  the  cases  of  bad 
shoeing  that  occur  where  nothing  more  than  ordinary 
skill  and  experience  in  horseflesh  obtain  ! 

There  are  many  horses  that  require  the  mind  and 
€ye  of  a  thorough  craftsman  to  shoe  them  properly ; 
and  when  thus  shod  they  never  interfere  or  over- 
reach; whereas,  if  wrongly  shod,  they  can  hardly 
tike  a  sound  step.  When  an  incompetent  smith  has 
to  deal  with  such  a  horse,  he  commonly  begins  by 
making  a  murderous  attack  on  the  hoof  with  his 
knife,  and  then  affixes  to  it  a  shoe  of  extraordinary 
shape.  A  good  workman,  on  the  other  hand,  never 
makes  a  shoe  the  shape  of  which  differs  from  the 
natural  shape  of  a  horse's  foot.  This,  I  think,  may 
be  taken  as  an  axiom,  and  it  supplies  a  test  capable 
of  wide  application.  The  competent  smith  corrects 
interfering  or  overreaching  by  contriving  a  new  ad- 


THE    (ARE   OP    HORSES.  317 

justment  of  shoes  to  feet,  but  when  his  work  is  done 
it  will  contain  no  noticeable  peculiarity. 

Some  horses  require  to  be  shod  with  short  shoes  in 
front.  I  once  owned  a  horse  that,  if  shod  too  long 
in  front,  would  catch  a  hind  shoe  in  a  fore  one,  and 
actually  throw  himself  to  the  ground.  It  is  a  common 
fault  of  smiths  to  make  the  shoe  too  long,  — so  long, 
in  many  cases,  that  it  curves  in  at  the  heel  and  almost 
touches  the  frog ;  whereas  it  ought  to  go  no  farther 
than  is  necessary  to  protect  the  wall  of  the  foot  from 
contact  with  the  ground.  For  the  same  reason,  that 
is,  in  order  to  let  the  heels  and  the  frog  have  free 
play,  corks  or  calkins  should  not  be  used  in  the  fore 
shoes  of  saddle  or  of  light  harness  horses,  —  except,  of 
course,  when  the  roads  are  icy,  —  and  it  is  a  question 
whether  they  are  useful  on  the  hind  shoes.  The  ideal 
shoe  1  is  the  lightest,  simplest,  smallest  piece  of  metal 
that  can  be  contrived  to  protect  the  wall  of  the  foot. 

And  now  we  come  to 

Blanketing. 

The  horse  requires  these  blankets :  a  linen  or  cot- 
ton sheet  for  summer,  to  be  kept  on  day  and  night 
unless  the  weather  is  very  hot ;  a  woollen  sheet,  to  be 
used  in  cool  summer  weather ;  and  a  thick  blanket, 
to  be  used  in  cold  weather  over  the  linen  or  woollen 
sheet,  according  to  circumstances.  A  woollen  blanket 
of  intermediate  weight  for  fall  and  spring  is  a  luxury, 
but  not  quite  a  necessity. 

1  Regarded  simply  as  a  means  to  locomotion.  When  it  is  a 
question  of  "balancing"  a  trotter  by  means  of  weight  in  his  shoes, 
another  problem  is  introduced.     See  page  90. 


318  ROAD,    TRACK,    AND    STABLE. 

In  a  cold  stable  the  horse  may  require  in  severe 
weather  two,  or  even  three  and  four  heavv  blankets. 
John  Splan  sensibly  remarks,  "  If  it  comes  to  a  cold 
night,  and  yon  think  you  want  an  extra  blanket  on 
your  own  bed,  see  that  the  horse  has  one." 

Beside  these  individual  blankets  the  stable  should 
contain  one  or  more  hoods,  and  coolers,  and  a  rubber 
blanket  for  cold  rains.  The  office  of  the  hood  I  have 
already  described.  The  cooler  is  a  long,  thin  all-wool 
blanket,  extending  over  the  neck  and  fastened  by 
safety  pins.  It  is  used  when  the  horse  comes  in 
from  work.  Horsemen  frequently  remark,  sometimes 
by  way  of  an  argument  in  favor  of  clipping,  that,  if 
a  horse  with  a  long  coat  gets  thoroughly  wet  with 
sweat,  he  will  not  become  dry  again  for  hours,  —  often. 
in  fact,  will  remain  wet  through  the  whole  night. 
But  when  this  happens,  unless  in  some  exceptional 
case,  it  is  because  of  wrong  management.  The  cus- 
tom is  to  put  on  the  animal's  heavy  clothing  at  once, 
when  he  comes  in  hot,  and  this  causes  him  to  sweat 
profusely  and  to  become  unduly  heated.  The  proper 
way  is  to  let  him  stand  for  a  very  short  time,  three 
or  four  minutes  being  the  maximum,  with  no  blanket, 
then  put  on  the  cooler,  his  legs  and  fetlocks  being  pro- 
tected by  the  straw,  in  which  he  stands  knee  deep,  or 
by  bandages,  and  let  him  so  remain  until  lie  is  dry,  or 
until  he  feels  cool  to  the  hand.  Then  he  may  resume 
his  ordinary  heavy  clothing.  Of  course,  judgment  must 
be  used  in  this  process  of  cooling ;  and  the  time  during 
which  the  cooler  is  employed  should  vary,  according 
to  the  temperature  of  the  stable  and  the  nature  of  the 
horse,  from  five  minutes  to  an  hour  or  more.  I  have 
never  known  a  horse  to  take  cold  under  this  method. 


THE    CARE    OF    HORSES.  319 

A  cheap,  warm,  and  durable  blanket  can  be  made  of 
canvas  or  sail-cloth,  lined  with  some  woollen  material. 
A  horse  bred  in  a  northern  latitude  will  do  very  well 
without  blankets  in  winter, — except,  of  course,  that 
one  must  always  be  used  when  he  comes  in  wet  from 
rain  or  sweat,  —  but  he  will  not  look  well.  His  coat 
will  be  long,  and  it  will  "  stare/'  and  he  will  require 
more  food  than  he  would  need  if  blanketed. 

When  colts  or  horses  are  exercised  by  being  turned 
out  in  a  yard  or  lot,  it  is  safer  not  to  blanket  them 
in  the  stable.  If  an  animal  is  neither  groomed  nor 
"covered  up,"  nature  supplies  him  with  a  thick  and 
oily  garment.  Rub  your  hand  on  the  hair  of  a  colt  at 
pasture,  and  you  will  find  that  it  is  positively  sticky. 
In  some  parts  of  Northern  New  York,  and  I  presume 
in  some  parts  of  New  England  also,  it  is  the  custom 
to  winter  horses  in  open  yards,  without  sheds,  where 
the  only  shelter  is  that  afforded  by  the  hay-rick  which 
supplies  them  with  food.  Horses  thus  exposed  to 
extreme  cold  and  wet  receive  no  injury,  but  they 
must  suffer  much  discomfort,  and  doubtless  the  cost 
of  a  warm  shed  would  soon  be  made  up  by  econ- 
omy in  hay.  Of  course  warm  blanketing  is  absolutely 
necessary  when  the  animal  is  deprived  of  his  natural 
coat  by 

Clipping. 

Clipping,  like  every  other  process  applicable  to 
horseflesh,  is  grossly  abused.  To  clip  a  horse  that 
is  obliged,  as,  for  example,  many  hack  horses  are,  to 
stand  out  in  all  weathers,  and  for  long  periods,  is  a 
great  cruelty;  and  especially  is  it  cruel  under  such 
circumstances  to  clip  the  legs  which  cannot  be  blan- 


320         ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 

keted.  It  is  also  in  some  degree  cruel,  and  as  I  think 
in  a  high  degree  absurd,  to  clip  carriage  horses  in  the 
city  that  are  seldom  required  to  go  long  distances. 
Such  animals  being  kept  in  warm  stables,  and  being 
warmly  clothed,  have  short  coats ;.  and  in  these  natu- 
ral coats  they  are  far  handsomer  than  in  the  clipped 
condition.  Nevertheless,  the  common  practice  is  to 
deprive  them  of  their  hair.  Why  ?  Doubtless  be- 
cause the  labor  of  the  groom  is  thus  lightened,  and  in 
these  matters  the  man  rules  the  master.  On  the  other 
hand,  horses  that  are  taken  out  once  a  day,  driven 
hard  and  fast,  and  then  brought  in  again,  are  usu- 
ally much  better  for  being  clipped,  since  they  escape 
the  profuse  sweating  which  they  would  otherwise 
undergo. 

Moreover,  especially  in  early  spring,  clipping  often 
seems  to  have  a  valuable  tonic  effect.  Horses  that 
were  thin  and  run  down  have  been  known  to  pick  up 
with  extraordinary  rapidity  after  being  clipped.  The 
reason  doubtless  is,  that  in  the  clipped  condition  they 
keep  a  certain  amount  of  flesh  which  they  would 
otherwise  have  lost  bv  sweating.  Even  when  a  horse 
stands  in  the  stable  —  to  say  nothing  of  his  work  —  he 
perspires  ;  and  if  the  weather  is  warmish  he  perspires 
a  great  deal,  for  his  heavy  blanket  is  retained  till  late 
spring  or  summer.  By  clipping,  this  loss  of  flesh  is 
avoided ;  and  perhaps  also  the  fact  that  the  animal's 
skin  is  comfortably  cool,  instead  of  uncomfortably 
hot,  has  a  direct  effect  upon  his  general  health. 

But  again,  under  certain  conditions,  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  sweating  which  a  long-coated  horse  gets  is 
beneficial.  A  moderate  amount  of  sweating  is  good  for 
a  horse,  as  it  is  for  a  man,  and  in  the  case  of  an  animal 


THE    CARE    OF    HORSES.  321 

that  has  very  little  work,  being  ridden  or  driven  only 
a  few  miles  every  other  day,  perhaps,  —  in  such  a  case 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  heavy  coat,  and  the  con- 
sequent sweating,  are  advantageous.  This  is  a  plain 
consideration,  but  I  have  never  seen  it  adverted  to 
in  any  horse  book. 

Another  point  of  some  importance  in  deciding 
whether  or  not  to  clip  your  horse  is  this :  Will  the 
operation  have  a  permanent  effect  upon  his  coat,  mak- 
ing it  come  out  earlier,  or  heavier,  or  coarser  the  next 
autumn  ?  Skilled  opinions  differ  on  this  point ;  but, 
as  a  general  principle,  the  cutting  of  hair  certainly 
tends  to  affect  its  future  growth ;  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  this  should  not  be  true  of  horses  as  of 
other  animals.  Still,  clipping  the  coat  once  a  year 
probably  has  only  a  slight  effect,  —  at  least,  until  it 
has  been  repeated  for  some  years. 

In  fine,  whether  or  not  your  horse  should  be  clipped 
depends  upon  his  coat,  upon  the  work  which  he  has  to 
do,  upon  the  exposure  to  which  he  is  subjected,  and 
in  some  degree  upon  the  stable  where  he  is  kept.  If 
you  wish  to  avoid  a  necessity  for  clipping  him,  be 
sure  that  he  has  a  thick  blanket  on  the  first  cool 
nights  of  autumn,  even  in  September  :  this  will  tend 
to  keep  his  coat  short. 

The  operation  of  clipping  should  not  be  performed 
on  a  damp  day,  nor  on  a  warm  day  when  the  pores  of 
the  skin  are  open  and  there  is  a  consequent  liability 
to  take  cold ;  and  it  need  not  be  said  that  a  clipped 
horse  requires  at  least  one  more  heavy  blanket  than 
an  undipped  one. 


322 


ROAD,  TRACK,  AND  STABLE. 


And  now,  having  brought  these  essays  to  a  close, 
I  will  address  to  the  gentle  reader  the  same  remark 
that  was  made  long  ago  by  one  of  my  predecessors  in 
the  subtle  art  of  horsemanship.  He  said,  —  and  I 
trust  that  I  have  been  equally  fortunate,  —  "  Lord  ! 
If  I  had  always  such  a  nice,  attentive  person  to  listen 
to  me  as  you  are,  I  could  go  on  talking  about  '"orses 
to  the  end  of  time." 


'■i  -ff.j/'i         ;\\  ■■<  I  '■'■#■'.. 

ftytf;  '         I'm 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


Abbass  Pacha,  119,  264. 

Abdallah,  26,  45,  72. 

Abdallah,  Alexander's,  29,  72. 

Abdallah,  Lakeland,  56. 

Action.     See  Gait. 

Alcantara,  32. 

Alcohol,  uses  of,  306,  312. 

Alcyone,  32. 

Ald'ine,  96. 

Alexander's  Abdallah,  29,  72. 

Allen,  Ethan,  the  horse,  44,  45,  68. 

Allen,  Ethan,  the  man,  121. 

Allen,  Wm.  H.,  306. 

Allerton,  67,  123. 

Almack,  33. 

Almont,  29. 

Amazonia,  33. 

Amble,  the,  164. 

American  Girl,  31. 

American  Horse  Breeder,  the,  48, 
140. 

Anazeh.     See  Arabian  Horses. 

Andrew  Jackson.     See  Jackson. 

Anglomaniacs,  22. 

Arabian  Horses.  (See  Darley, 
Godolphin,  Jennifer,  Leeds, 
Lindsey.)  The  Anazeh  horses, 
202,  264,  265,  267,  268,  272,  281 ; 
as  a  cross,  280,  282 ;  as  colts,  277 ; 
color  of,  264;  ears  of,  269,  271; 
firing  of,  279 ;  fixity  of  type,  261 ; 
foals,  276 ;  half-bred  Arabs,  263, 
264;  head  of,  269,  270;  imported 


to  England,  118,  119,  262;  im- 
ported to  United  States,  41,  282 ; 
as  junipers,  282.  The  Nejd  horses, 
262,  265,  266,  267;  nostrils  of, 
271;  origin  of,  258-261;  pedi- 
grees of,  257 ;  points  of,  268-274. 
As  polo  ponies,  156 ;  race  with 
English  horse,  119 ;  as  saddle 
horses,  153;  soundness  of,  273; 
as  stayers,  153,  282 ;  tail  of,  267, 
268,  272;  temper  of,  274,  275. 

Arabs,  their  opinion  as  to  impor- 
tance of  dam,  58 ,  as  horse-break- 
ers, 274;  manner  of  riding,  275; 
respect  for  good  birth,  255,  256, 
279. 

Arabo-maniacs,  258,  280,  285. 

Archy,  Sir,  52. 

Arion,  30,  53,  83,  84,  85. 

Arnica.  306. 

Auburn  Horse,  34,  35 

Avery  Horse,  197. 

Awful,  Nancy,  75. 


Backs,  116,  145,  296 

Badminton,  300. 

Badminton  Library,  136,  173,  174, 

207. 
Bagdad,  264,  265. 
Bald  Galloway,  51. 
Bandnging,  306,  308,  311. 
Barbs,  171,  215.  278.  280. 


326 


INDEX. 


Barefooted  horses,  313,  314. 

Baronet,  33. 

Bassett,  Harry,  39. 

Battel!,  Mr.  J.,  121 

Bay,  80. 

Bay  Fearnaught,  127. 

Beaufort,  Duke  of,  203. 

Beautiful  Bay,  40 

Bedding,  131,  242,  288,  289,  293, 

294. 
Beer.  210. 

Belle  of  Wabash,  40. 
Bellfounder,  24,  26,  27. 
Belmont,  29. 
Benton,  Gen..  83. 
Beverages  for  horses,  2j0. 
Billy  Duroc,  34 
Blackhawk,  Vermont,  30,  44. 
Black  Joker,  142. 
Blacksmith,  131,  287,  313,  316. 
Blanketing,  299,  307,  317-319,  321. 
Blinders,  131. 
Bloody  Buttocks,  41. 
Blue  Bull.  Merring's,  47;  Pruden's, 

48  ;  Wilson's,  24,  48,  50. 
Blue  Grass  region,  161. 
Blunt,  Lady  Anne,  256.  257,  282. 
Blunt.  Mr.  W.,  256.  257,  262,  266, 

271,  276. 
Bodine,  101. 

Bonheur,  Mile   Rosa,  208. 
Bonner,  Mr.  R.,  31,  34,  35,  69,  82, 

316. 
Booker,  Sam,  162. 
Boots  for  horses,  72,  90. 
Boott,  Mr.  J.,  26. 
Borrow,  Mr.  G.,  27,  116,  190,  191. 
Boston,  39,  53. 
Boston,  city  horses  of,  210. 
Boston  Fire  Department,  229  etseq. 
Boston  Girl,  127. 
Bran  Mash.  241.  297,  298. 
Breaking,  from  a  trot,  91,  94,  95. 
Brewers.     See  London  Brewers. 
Brinker's  Drennan,  162. 
Broncos.  8,  167-171,  278 
Bronco  thoroughbreds,  171-173. 


Brood  Mares,  56-58. 

Brood  Mare  Sires,  56. 

Brooklyn    Fire    Department,    232, 

236,  241,  250 
Bucephalus,  197. 
Bulrush,  126. 
Bun  bury.  Sir  Charles,  51. 
Burdett-Coutts,  Mr.,  152,  189,  198. 
Bush  Messenger,  33. 
Byerly  Turk.  41.  51,  119. 


Cabell"  >  Lexington,  162. 

California  Horses,  39,  82. 

California  Stage  Horses,  170. 

Cambridge  Fire  Department,  232, 
25U. 

Canadian  Horses,  126.  159,  162. 

Canter,  the,  165. 

Capucine.  199. 

Car  Horses,  212,  228. 

Carriages,  early,  181;  improvement 
in,  180,  203." 

Carriage  Horses,  150,  178  et  seq.; 
American,  195-199;  clipping  of, 
319-321;  early,  183-185;  im- 
provement in,  178,  183-187,  203; 
the  primitive,  179;  state,  184, 
189 ;  as  weight-pullers,  203,  204 ; 
See  also  Cleveland  Bay,  Cob, 
Hackney,  Yorkshire  Coach 
Horse,  and  French  Coach 
Horse. 

Cart  Horses.  206  et  seq. ;  beauty 
of,  206.  209;  Blue  Bulls  as,  48; 
mechanically  considered,  217;  on 
the  farm,  209.  225;  pictures  of, 
208:  shape  of.  217.  224:  types 
of.  224.  See  also  Clydesdales, 
Perchekoxs.  Shire  Horses, 
Suffolk  Punch. 

Cart  Horse  Society.  214. 

Castianira,  ">-_>. 

Champions,  the,  33. 

Grinnell's,  33.  34. 
King's.  34. 
Vermont,  139. 


INDEX. 


327 


Charles  I.,  118. 

Charles  II.,  118. 

Cbarlier  method  of  shoeing,  249. 

(heck  reins,  132-135,  212,  213. 

Chicago  Fire  Department,  232,  230, 
241,  242. 

Chillaby,  80. 

Chloe,  211. 

Clay-Arabians,  285. 

Clay  Pilot,  4i). 

Clays,  the,  29,  36.  39,  64,  81. 
California,  39. 
as  carriage  horses,  196. 
Cassius  M.,  40. 
Henry.  36-30. 
hall-mark  of,  40. 

Clipping.  319-321. 

Cleveland  Bays.  185-187,  189,  190, 
260;  in  the  United  States,  192. 

Clydesdales,  12,  219,  221,  223-225. 

Coaches,  early,  181-183;  fast,  187- 
188;  in  London,  180. 

Coach  horses,  223.  See  Carriage 
Horses. 

Cobs,  147,  198,  201-203. 

Cold,  effects  of,  47,  168. 

Color,  of  Arabians,  264;  of  Brewers' 
horses,  210;  of  Cleveland  Bays, 
187;  cream  color,  184;  of  French 
Coach  Horses,  193;  of  Percbe- 
rons,  220;  of  Shire  Horses,  214: 
of  Suffolk  Punches,  218. 

(Jolts,  Arabian,  277. 

Comanches,  169. 

Comstock,  Hark,  46. 

Conestoga  Horses.  238. 

Conover,  Peter,  72. 

Conqueror,  141. 

Cook,  Fanny,  45. 

Cooling,  305,  307,  308. 

Copperbottom,  162. 

Corn,  296.  297. 

Cow-pony,  167-171,  278. 

Crawley,' Sir  Pitt,  186. 

Cribbing.  288. 

Crofts.  Mr..  40. 

Cropping,  21. 


Cummings,  Mr.  M.  I,.,  38. 
Curwen's  Bay  Barb,  51. 


DaxjGETTY,  ('apt.  Dugald,  130. 

Damascus,  264. 

Dame  Winnie,  54. 

Dana,  Mr.  R.  H.,  176. 

Darley  Arabian,  51,  119,  262. 

Darwin,  Mr.,  260. 

Dave,  72. 

Day.  Mr.  YVm..  12,  119,  226,  274. 

De  Lancey,  Col.,  40. 

Denmark,  163. 

Derby,  the  first,  51. 

Dexter,  31,  69,  70,  72. 

Dictator,  29,  81,  87. 

Diligence  Horses,  222. 

Diomed,  24,  34,  40,  47,  49,  50,  51, 

52,  53,  125. 
Direct,  53. 
Dirigo,  127. 
Dillard,  John,  163. 
Doble,  Mr.  Budd,  72,  73,  74,  99, 

101. 
Docking,  21. 
Dodge,  Col.  R.  L,  167. 
Dodge,  Col.  T.  A.,  164,  166,  167, 

278,  314. 
Dray  Horses.     See  London  Dray 

Horses  and  Cart  Horses. 
Dressing,  303.  305. 
Drews,  the,  126. 
Drivers  of  trotters,  92,  93,  95;   of 

roadsters,  95,  96,  114,  136. 
Driving,  the  art  of.  94,  95. 
Dryness  essential  to  horses,  293. 
Duke  of  Magenta,  152. 
Duroc.  34. 
Duroc,  Billy,  34. 
Diirer,  Albert,  216. 
Dutchman,  61,  74. 


Ears  of  horses,  117;  of  Arabian 
horses,  269,  271;  mouse  ears, 
239. 


328 


INDEX. 


Eaton  Horse,  the,  197-200. 
Eclipse,  American,  30,  33,  69,  126. 

English,  80. 
Electioneer,  29,  39,  83. 
Electioneers,  the,  30. 
Emblem,  146. 

Endurance.     See  Roading. 
Engineer,  33. 

English  Cart  Horse  Society,  214. 
English  horsemen,  17. 
Evelyn,  Mr.,  181. 
Exmoor  Ponies,  260. 


Fair  Nell,  119,  144,  154. 

Families,  Trotting,  23-59. 

Fanny  Pullen,  33. 

Farm"  Horses,  209,  225-227. 

Farnum,  Mr.,  138. 

Fearnaughts,  the,  126,  127. 

Felix,  107-112. 

Feet,  the  care  of,  308-310. 

Feet,  white,  69. 

Fire  Engines,  230. 

Fire  Engine  House,  235. 

Fire  Horses,  accidents  to,  240,  248; 
appearance  of,  229;  bedding  of, 
242;  cost  of,  250:  duty  of,  229, 
230,  231,  236,  242;  exercise  of. 
241 ;  fate  of.  253,  254;  feeding  of, 
241 ;  feet  of.  248 ;  harness  of,  230, 
235,  236;  hospital  for.  247,  248: 
shape  of,  232-234,  245;  shoeing 
of,  249 :  stories  of.  233,  234,  238, 
239,  240,  243.  244,  250.  252  253 ; 
training  of,  232,  237,  238,  239. 

Firing  of  horses  by  Arabs,  279. 

First  Consul,  35. 

Fisher,  Major,  304.  308. 

Flagg,  Dr.',  124. 

Fleming,  Mr.  Geo..  305,  310. 

Flemish  Horses,  184,  214.  263. 

Flora  Temple,  64,  68,  142. 

Florence,  107-112. 

Florizel,  51. 

Flying  Childers,  51. 

Flying  Eaton,  145,  197,  198. 


Foals,  endurance  of.  274;  Arabian, 

276. 
Foot,  the  care  of,  308-310. 
Fullerton,  Judge,  101. 
Forrest,  Edwin,  31,  87. 
Forester,  Frank,  52,  62. 
Fox  Hunting,  151. 
Franklin  County,  Me.,  197,  199. 
French  Coach  Horse,  193,  199. 
Frog,  249,  308,  312,  315. 
Fylde,  40. 


Gait,  altering,  90 ;  of  Arabian 
horses,  273,  281;  of  carriage 
horses,  193 ;  of  Flora  Temple, 
67;  of  high  steppers,  149,  194;  of 
Morgans,  122,  197;  of  trotters, 
122,  123,  147,  281;  of  roadsters, 
67,  122,  204;  of  saddle  horses, 
159,  164,   165. 

Gallop,  the,  165. 

Gabon,  Mr.  F.,  15. 

Gano,  30. 

Gentling,  16. 

Gilbey,  Mr.  W.,  214,  216. 

Gimcrack,  42. 

Giraud,  Mr.,  291. 

Glencoe,  53,  152. 

Godolphin  Arabian,  or  Barb,  50,  51, 
119. 

Golddust,  Lucille,  101. 

Goldsmith,  Mr.  A.,  72. 

Goldsmith  Maid,  71-74,  84,  99,  100. 

Gomussa,  horses  of,  262. 

Grant.  72. 

Grant,  Gen.,  Arabian  horses  of, 
154,  264. 

Grand  Bashaw.  24.  35. 

Grass,  299. 

Gray  Eagle.  40. 

Great  Fastern,  62. 

Green  Mountain  Maid,  58. 

Grief.  251,  252.  253. 

GrinnelFs  Champion,  33,  34. 

Grooming,  303,  305. 

Grooms,  T2,  99,  130,  303,304. 


INDEX. 


329 


Hackney,  32,  190-192. 

Hail,  Emir  of,  205,  266. 

Hal,  Brown,  163. 

Hal,  Tom,  163. 

Hal  Pointer,  163. 

Haleem  Pacha,  119. 

Half-breds,  150,  151,  171,  205. 

Hainbletonian,  Rysdyek's,  26-28. 
Harris's,  33. 

Ilambletonians,  the,  26-28,  196; 
hall-mark  of,  40;  as  carriage 
horses,  196. 

Hamerton.  Mr.  P.  G.,  9,  10,  206. 

Hands,  176. 

Hanks,  "Nancy,  53,  63,  87. 

Hanoverian  Horses,  181. 

Happy  Medium,  29,  87. 

Harkness,  Mr.  J.,  140. 

Harness,  of  road  horses,  131-135; 
of  fire  horses,  231,  235,  236. 

Harold,  29,  56. 

Harris,  Mr.  S.  T.,  58. 

Harry  Bassett,  39. 

Hay,  best  kind  of,  299;  meadow,  294; 
necessity  of,  295,  296 ;  racks,  289. 

Hays,  M.'du,  221. 

Helm,  Mr.  H.  T.,  39,  91,  105. 

Hempstead,  J  46. 

Henry,  69. 

Henry,  Sir,  126. 

Hickock.  Mr.  O.,  81. 

Highland  Maid,  68. 

High  School  Horst: .  165,  166. 

High-steppers,  194. 

Holmes,  Dr.  O.  W.,  59. 

Hook  and  Ladder  Truck,  230,  234. 

Hopeful,  67. 

Horses,  duty  toward,  of  owners,  7, 
19;  of  users,  2,  3;  feeding  of,  295- 
299;  friendships  of,  72,  80;  na- 
ture of,  10,  11, 12,  93,  237;  malle- 
ability of.  280;  nervous  energy 
of,  11,  12,  14,  57;  origin  of,  259; 
points  of,  217;  Saturday  Re- 
view on.  217.  See  Bedding, 
Clipping.  Driving,  Grooming, 
Shoeing,  etc. 


Hulbert,  Ed,  113. 

Hull,  Mr.  J.,  157. 

Hunter,  Kentucky,  64,  87. 

Huntington,  Mr.  K.,  37,  154,  285. 

Huntress,  61. 

Hyde  Park,  180,  183,  192. 


Indian  Carriage,  179. 
Indian  Ponies,  8,  167. 
Insurance      (Protective)      Wagon 
Horses,  246,  247. 


Jack,  45. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  the  horse,  35,  36. 
Jackson,  Andrew,  the  man,  49. 
Jackson,  Stonewall,  49. 
Jarnette,  Lady  de,  133,  134. 
James  I.,  118. 
Jay-Eye-See,  47,  53,  81,  85. 
Jefferson,  Mr.,  304. 
Jeffreys,  Mr.  D.,  35. 
Jennifer  Arabian,  223. 
Jimmy,  78,  79. 

Jobmasters.      See    London    Job- 
masters. 
John,  244. 
Johnston,  18. 
Judge  Fullerton,  101. 


Kadishes,  263. 
Kellogg,  Mr.  P.  C,  46. 
Kent  Mare,  the  Charles,  26. 
Kentucky  folk,  162,  163,  165,  166, 

179;    horses,    29,    30,   161,    162; 

Hunter,  64,   87;    saddle  horses, 

161-167. 
Kerbeck,  M.  de,  31. 
Kickapoo  Indians,  169. 
Kicking,  288. 
Killbuck  Tom,  283. 
King  Cole,  211. 
King  Herod,  41,  51,  52. 
King's  Champion,  34. 
Kismet,  262. 


330 


INDEX 


Knapp,  Shepherd  F.,  198,  199. 
Knight,  horse  of,  213-216. 
Knox,  Gen.,  the  horse,  125,  151. 
Knox,  Gen.,  the  man,  121. 


Lady  Duval,  58. 

Lady  Patriot,  29. 

Lady  Thorne,  30,  31,  151. 

Lakeland  Abdallah,  56. 

Lambert,  Daniel,  13,  45,  46. 

Lancet,  68. 

Lavengi-o,  116,  190. 

Lee,  Gen.  Harry,  41. 

Lee,  Nancy,  87. 

Leeds  Arabian,  51. 

Leopard,  154,  264. 

Leopard  Rose,  283. 

Lewis,  Col.,  152. 

Lexington,  53,  81,  83. 

Lexington,  Cabell's,  162. 

Lindsey  Arabian,  41. 

Linsley,  Mr.  D.  C,  his  book,  121. 

Little  Dot,  62. 

London  Brewers,  210 

Coaches,  180.   • 

Dray  Horses,  214,  225.  . 

Jobmasters,  189,  203. 

Streets,  180. 
Lovelace,  Col.,  140. 
Lucille  Golddust,  101. 
Lucy,  31,  73. 
Lucy  Jimmy,  72. 
Lulu,  33. 
Lynn  Fire  Department,  232. 


Mace,  Mr  Dan,  13,  31,  94. 

Maine  Horses,  33,  125,  126,  194, 
197-201,  283. 

Mambrino,  30. 

Mambrino  Chief,  30. 

Mambrino  King,  31. 

Mambrino  Patchen,  30,  32,  56,  57. 

Mambrino  Patchens,  the,  196;  hall- 
mark, 40;  tails  of,  267 

Mambrino  Paymaster,  30. 


Manette,  83. 

Margrave,  53. 

Markham,  Gervase,  184. 

Marlborough,  Duke  of,  32,  63. 

Marshland  Shales,  27,  191. 

Alarvin,  Mr.  C,  83,  101,  133,  310. 

Matchem,  52. 

Maud  S.,  29,  47,  53.  63,  81,  82,  96, 
315. 

Messenger,  24,  25,  33,  50,  53,  197. 

Messenger,  Bush,  33. 

Messenger,  Winthrop,  33. 

Michaux,  M.  162. 

Middle  Ages,  horse  of,  213-216. 

Miller's  Damsel,  50. 

Miss  Russell,  53. 

Moor,  the,  39. 

Morgan,  John,  68. 

Morgan,  Justin,  the  horse,  41,  42, 
121,  126. 

Morgan,  Justin,  the  man,  121. 

Morgans,  the,  anecdotes  of,  43, 
123-125;  as  carriage  horses,  196- 
199 ;  as  cobs,  202 ;  as  road- 
sters, 121-127,  137-141,  97-201; 
as  saddle  horses,  139,  158,  159, 
161 ;  gait  of,  122.  197 ;  origin  of, 
41. 

Morocco,  Emperor  of,  41. 

Morrills,  Winthrop,  the,  126. 

Morse  Horse,  33. 

Mouse  ears,  239. 

Murpbv.  Mr.  J.,  70. 

Murray,  Rev.  W.  H.  H.,  121. 

Mustangs,  8,  167-171,  278. 


Naomi,  262,  285. 

Nancy  Awful.  75 

Nancy  Hanks,  53,  63,  87. 

Nancy  Lee,  87. 

Nancy  Pope,  47. 

Narragansett  Pacers,  157-158. 

Nejd.  See  under  Arabian  Horses. 

Nelson,  63. 

Nevins,  Mr.  D.,  127. 

Nervous  Energy,  11,  57,  58,  120. 


INDEX. 


331 


Night  Team,  the,  188. 

NinuW,  292. 

Nobby,  107-112. 

Norfolk   Trotter,     23,   26,   27,   190, 

191. 
Norman  Horses   47,  219,  223. 
Nutwood,  29,  53,  83. 


Oats,  296,  297. 
Old  Charlie,  72,73. 
Old  Joe,  252,  253. 
O'Reilly,  Mr.  J.  B.,  22. 
Orloff  Trotters,  38,  39. 
Ostlers,  13,  99,  130,  303,  304. 
Women,  222. 


Pace,  the,  163,  164. 
Pacers  and  Kentucky  Saddle  Horses, 
162,  163 

and  Trotters,  46,  163. 

Mile  record  of,  163. 

Narragansett,  157,  158. 

Shape  of,  64. 
Pacing  Cart  Horses,  48. 
Pacing  Pilot,  24,  40,  47,  162. 
Pads,  Arabian  saddles,  275. 
Pads  for  feet.  248:  310. 
Pale  Face,  171. 

Palgrave,  Mr.  W.  G.,  145,  266,  279. 
Pamlico,  45,  195,  196. 
Palo  Alto,  the  farm,  301,  316. 
Palo  Alto,  the  horse,  30,  54,  63,  81, 

82,  83,  85. 
Paris  Omnibus  Horses,  223. 
Parker,  the,  165. 
Parlin,  Mr.  S.  W.,  145. 
Partner,  41. 
Pastern  Joints  in  the  saddle  horse, 

145;  in  Arabian  horses,  273. 
Pasturing,  299. 
Payne  Stock  Farm,  196. 
Pearl,  35. 

Peat-moss,  293,  294. 
Pea  Vine,  166. 
Peerless,  35,  88. 


Pedigrees.      See    Thoroughbred 
and  Stud  Book 

Pedigrees  of  Arabian  Horses,  256, 

257. 
Penultima,  33 
Pepys,  Mr.,  181,  L82,  183. 
Percherons,  12,  204,  220-225. 
Peter,  239. 

Petting,  utility  of,  8,  242. 
Phillips,  Maine,  200. 
Pickering,  Mr.  Ned,  182. 
Pilot,  24,  40,  47,  162. 
Pilot,  Jr.,  47,  53,  56,  81. 
Ploughing,  209,  226,  227. 
Pointer,  Hal;  163. 
Polo  Ponies,  171-173. 
Pope,  Nancy,  47. 
Prince  Albert,  220. 
Princess,  68. 
Privation,  effects  of,  168. 
Prize-fighting,  111,  151. 
Protective   (Insurance)  Company's 

Horses,  246,  247. 
Provender,  296. 

Providence  Fire  Department,  232. 
Pullen,  Fanny,  33. 
Purity,  52. 


Quartermaster,  32. 
Quorn  Hunt,  the,  151. 


Races,  trotting,  87,  92,  96-98;  run- 
ning, 72.  92,  160. 
Rangelev,  Maine,  200. 
Rarus,  75-79. 
Rattler,  71. 

Record  Breakers,  57,  58. 
Red  Bird,  34. 
Reefing,  96- 
Renock,  Joe,  139. 
Reynolds,  Mr.  R.  S.,  213. 
Rheumatism,  311. 
Rice,  Mr.  J..  51. 
Rifleman.  152. 
Riding.  174-176. 


332 


INDEX. 


Road  Horses,  breeding  of,  117-120; 
care  of,  130,  131,  136,  137,  138; 
checking  of,  134;  definition  of, 
114;  feeding  of,  136-138;  har- 
ness of,  131;  points  of,  116,  117; 
shoeing  of,  131;  watering,  301, 
302, 

Roading,  instances  of.  127,  138, 139, 
140-142,  200,  221,  283,  284. 

Roaring,  292. 

Rockingham,  52. 

Rodes  Mare,  30. 

Rose  of  Washington,  68. 

Royal  Mares,  118. 

Royal  Tar,  283. 

Rubbers,  99,  303-305. 

Rubbing  down,  305-307. 

Running  Footmen,  183. 

Kunning  Mate,  44,  45. 

Ruskin,"Mi\,  178. 

Rvsdvck's  Hambletonian,  26-28. 


Saddle  Horses,  breeding  of,  152, 
153, 162;  disposition  of,  149, 150; 
disuse  of;  159;  Kentucky,  161- 
167;  mounting,  174,  175;  points 
of,  144-146,  155,156;  training  of, 
174,  trotting  under  saddle,  146. 

Saint  Julien,  81,  85. 

Salt,  298. 

Salt  Marsh,  311. 

Salt  Water,  311. 

Sampson,  24,  25. 

Sand,  George,  5. 

Sandford  and  Merton,  218. 

Santa  Claus,  36. 

Saturday  Review,  217. 

Schoolmaster,  171,  172. 

Scott,  Mr.  M.,  160. 

Scott,  Sir  W.,  215. 

Scoring,  98,  99. 

Scratches,  220,  308. 

Searcher,  125. 

Sensation  horses,  194. 

Shakspere,  277. 

Sharp,  Miss  Becky,  186. 


Sherman  Morgan,  44,  126. 

Shire  Horses,  183,  214-217,  226,  227. 

Shoeing,  312-317;  Charlier  method 
of,  249;  of  fire  horses,  249;  of 
mustangs  or  broncos,  314;  of 
roadsters,  131 ;  of  trotters,  90. 

Shoulders  of  cart  horses,  217;  of 
saddle  horses,  144:  of  trotters, 
63,  64. 

Shying,  14-16,  117. 

Sidney,  Mr.  S.,  154. 

Sir  Archy,  52. 

Skeleton  wagon,  67.  89. 

Smith,  Mr.  T.  A.,  176. 

Smithtield,  182. 

Smuggler,  47,  64,  91,  100. 

Sons  of  Horses,  263,  264. 

Sontag,  33. 

Sophronisba,  33. 

Sore  Backs,  etc.,  305,  312. 

Spanish  Horses,  171. 

Spectator  Mare,  51. 

Spike  Team,  243. 

Spiral  Spring,  231. 

Spirit  of  the^Times,  107, 109. 

Splan,  Mr.  J.,  18,  76, 107-112,  131, 
134,  318. 

Sprague,  Gov.,  33. 

Sprains,  311. 

Springs,  180,  181. 

Squirt,  52. 

Stable,  the,  288-292. 

Stalls,  288,  290,  291. 

Stamboul,  39,  63,  64. 

Stanford,  Gov.,  30,  85. 

Stars,  family  of,  69. 

Starting  a  load,  212,  231. 

Stayers,  153. 

Stopping.     See  Stuffing. 

Strathmore,  29. 

Straw,  294. 

Stud  Book,  for  Cleveland  Bays,  189 ; 
for  hackneys,  190;  for  Kentucky 
saddle  horses,  162:  for  thorough- 
breds, 23;  for  Yorkshire  coach 
horses,  150,  189. 

Stuffing  for  feet,  309,  310. 


INDEX. 


333 


Stumbling,  147,  148,149,  277. 
Stump  the  Dealer,  162. 
Suffolk  Punch,  218,  219. 
Sulky,  87,  89. 
Sultan,  American,  39. 

English,  152. 
Sunol,  12,  63,  83,  85,  316. 
Sweating,  318,  320. 


Tacony,  68. 

Tails,  of  Arabian  horses,  267.  268; 
of  Hambletonians,  28 ;  of  Mam- 
brino  Patchens,  267. 

Tallmadge,  Capt.,  41. 

Tattersall,  Mr.,  119,  290. 

Taverns,  New  England,  129,  303. 

Temple,  Flora,  64,  68,  142. 

Tepee  Poles,  179. 

Texas  Horses,  171. 

Thackeray,  Mr.,  9. 

Thorne,  Lady,  30,  31,  151. 

Thornedale,  29. 

Thoroughbred,  definition  of,  23; 
beauty  of,  207;  docility  of,  207; 
origin  of,  118:  uses  of,  152. 

Thoroughbred  Blood,  in  carriage 
horses,  186,  205;  in  Kentucky 
saddle  horses,  162;  in  polo  po- 
nies, 171-173;  in  roadsters,  117- 
120;  in  trotters,  53,  54. 

Thrush,  308. 

Toe-weights,  90,  91. 

Tom  Thumb,  142. 

Topgallant,  74. 

Toothaker,  Squire  200,  201. 

Touchstone  Family,  270. 

Tournament  Roll,  216. 

Tracks,  88,  89;  kite,  89. 

Trainers,  92,  93. 

Tramp,  152. 

Trampoline,  152. 

Tredwell,  Mr.  J.,  33. 

Trollope.  Mr.  A.,  176. 

Trotting  Families,  23-59. 

Trotting  Horses,  breeding  of.  53,  54, 
55,  61;  friendships  of,  72,  73,  77, 


79,  80;  gait  of,  122  123,  L65j 
points  of,  62-64;  origin  of,  23 
tt  stq.;  various,  59  tt  seq. 

Trotting  Ponies,  142,  173. 

Trotting   Races,  92  tt  seq.;  condi- 
tions of,  96-99. 

Troublesome,  199,  200. 

True  Briton,  26,  40. 

Truefit,  152. 

Trumpeter,  152. 

Trustee,  American,  33,  53,  142. 
Imported,  33,  53. 

Truxton,  49. 

Turf,  Field,  and  Farm,  the,  103, 106. 

Turner,  Mr.  J.  M.  W.,  208. 

Turning  out  to  pasture,  299. 


Upton,  Maj.  R.  D.,  258,  259,  260, 
262,  268,  271,  272,  273,  281. 


Vaxderbilt,  Mr.  W.  H.,  96. 

Velocity,  27. 

Vermont  Blackhawk,  36,  44. 

Vermont  Champion,  139. 

Vermont  Hero,  125. 

Vermont  Horses.  33.  139. 

Vernon,  Mr.  R.,  51. 

Vertumnus,  33. 

Veterinary  Surgeon,  13,   124,  213, 

246.  249,  305,  310. 
Vielee,  Mr.,  65. 
Volunteer,  29,  61,  81. 


Walker,  Rev.  G.  L.,  13. 
Walpole,  Mr.  Horace,  179. 
Warren.  Mr.  S.  D.,  171. 
War  Horse,  213-216. 
Washington,  Gen.,  151. 
Washington,  son  of  Knapp,  199. 
Waxey  (horse),  152,  162. 
Waxy  (mare).  83. 
Weaving,  288. 
Web,  152. 
Wedgewood,  14.  29,  32. 


334 


INDEX. 


Weight-carriers,  145. 

Weight  of  drivers,  92;  of  jockeys, 
92. 

Weight  Pulling,  67,  212. 

Weight  Pullers  as  carriage  horses, 
203,  204;  as  cart  horses,  217, 
219,  221;  as  coach  horses,  203, 
204;  as  lire  horses,  232,  234; 
as  trotters,  67. 

Wheel,  invention  of,  180. 

Whyte-Melville,  Mr.,  145,  269. 

Wildair,  41. 

Wild  Tiger.  200,  201. 

Wilkes,  Geo.,  the  horse,  29,  30,  32, 
39. 

Wilkes,  Geo.,  the  man,  65,  94. 


Winkers,  132. 
Winship,  H.  B.,  44. 
Winthrop  Messenger,  33. 
Winthrop  Morrills,  the,  126. 
Woodburn,  Kentucky.  29. 
Woodruff,  Mr.  H.,  34,  35,  68,  74,  88, 
94,  142.  295. 


Yorkshike   Coach   Horse,   189, 

190,  192. 
Yorkshire   Coach    Horse    Society, 

150. 
Youatt,  142. 
Young  Bashaw.  35. 
Young  Selirn,  49. 


- 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 

Cumr  dicineat 

Tin  I 

200  Wes  id 

North  Grafton,  MA  01536 


